


Confluences

by Khoris



Category: Life Is Strange 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Anger, Angst, Blood, Charles is dead, Chris has powers, Grief/Mourning, Minor Character Death, Multi, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Racist Language, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:54:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 45,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25440469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Khoris/pseuds/Khoris
Summary: Sean's life ended at the border and Daniel has to take fate in his own hands now. Alone he crosses the border once more, trying to find a future in the USA.Post Lone-Wolf ending AU
Comments: 10
Kudos: 33





	1. Out of Control

Agent Flores slowly clambered onto her knees before standing up. She had to steady herself against a car. Her head must have been hit pretty hard after she was flung through the air, considering how it hurt and how wobbly her legs felt. Trying to figure out what actually shoved her to the side with such force that she lost the ground under her feet for a moment just increased her headache. But she was certain, the car of the Diaz brothers hadn’t hit her. Looking around, her confusion grew even more. Cars lay on their sides or roofs with broken windows and dents all over. Officers were lying on the ground, some moaning and moving, but obviously living, others were just lying there in such a way that Flores couldn’t imagine them being alive.

The officers manning the police car driving up after the Diaz-brothers had arrived were unscathed and so were the front-line agents who were not too close to the roadblock. Most of them stood around dumbfounded, trying to process what they just saw, while the more experienced officers started to help the wounded and unconscious. The gate in the border wall was lying in the no-mans-land between the wall and the “Bienvenido A Mexico” billboard, and the car, which so easily broke through the ranks stood there, a little way off the road but on mexican territory. Somehow, she had a bad feeling, but she couldn’t focus on this right now. She needed to inform her superiors that she failed. 

Looking through all her pockets and on the floor, she found the device about sixty feet from where she stood, close to her gun. Both must have fallen to the ground during the involuntary flight. Groggily she walked over and picked up her belongings. Her view fell once again on the car on the other side of the border, where a door just opened and Daniel nearly tripped over his legs and barely kept himself on his feet.

_Wait, just one door? Where is Sean? That’s not good. Did we really hurt him? Did we kill him?_

One thought chased the other, while she observed Daniel on the other side. He’d sat down, knees to the chest and head buried in his arms. 

_Oh no, no no no. We really killed Sean? I never wanted that, I really tried to help. Why didn’t he surrender? What will Daniel do now?_

Suddenly Daniel looked up and in her direction. For a moment he stared at her and then stood up and walked towards the border with such determination, that she - unconsciously - made a step back. 

_This is odd. Why would he come here? Sean and he never trusted me or the police in general and he managed to get across the border. Unless…_

She had never met Daniel, but the way Sean behaved when she was asking questions about the little brother and how determined Sean was to find Daniel always seemed a bit off. She always thought it was just brotherly concern, but what if there was more to it? What if Daniel was the cause that everybody was pushed out of the way and none of the bullets seemed to hit the brothers’ car? The implications were horrifying and all of a sudden, when looking through this lens, everything moved into place. 

It was Daniel, it always was Daniel. The dead cop in Seattle, the devastated pot farm in Humboldt county, the dead Reverend in Haven Point, the whole unexplainable occurrences fitted so perfectly to what she witnessed here.

Daniel still walked towards the border and with every step the fear she felt, since the boy stood up, grew.

“Get up men, quickly. Make yourselves ready, it isn’t over yet”. _But how can I give the order to shoot a boy? It is to no avail anyway, is it?_

About a dozen officers had taken up arms again and looked a bit confused at Daniel from behind the makeshift cover they’d taken. She couldn’t blame them, for them the real threat was Sean and he was nowhere to be seen.

_I have to try something…_

“Daniel! I’m glad you are okay. I’m sure…”, she stopped. _How am I going to end this sentence? everything is going to be ok? That would probably be the worst thing I could say and also sounds like mockery only minutes after Sean died. …I can help you? We can talk about everything?_ These options were all so bad. She started anew:

“I’m really sorry Sean did not make it. Please, don’t do anything stupid now. It is over.” She was not sure if Daniel understood a word she ‘d said, but then he answered and she could see the sun reflecting in the tears she knew were there.

“Why did you kill him? Why couldn’t you just leave us alone? Sean did nothing wrong”.

An officer, squatting down behind an upturned border patrol car about twenty-five yards away abruptly jerked backwards and lay there, motionless. A bloody hole in his temple announced his fate and she knew; she didn’t have a choice anymore. But it must be a surprise for Daniel, otherwise he would just deflect the bullets… again. Gun in her hand, she took a quick look, took note, trusted her training and shot. It rang through the air like a bell who announced the second part of a play in a theatre. She saw a shimmering wall go up between her and Daniel nearly at the same time she heard the gun go off, but she also saw Daniels right shoulder lurching back. He just stood there, while the officers opened fire, taking her shot as the permission to shoot on the child. Through the hail of bullets and the barely visible wall, she had troubles making out Daniels face and reaction. But what she saw happening around him, was not good news at all. Stones flew to him and surrounded him like he was at the centre of a tornado. Not just pebbles but stones she easily could make out from a hundred feet away. Ripples emanated from Daniel into the ground, it looked like a small earthquake with Daniel at the epicentre. She didn't know exactly what would happen next, but all her experiences with Sean and all she knew from the case file of the brothers pointed in one direction. _Shit, this is going to be bad_

“Stop firing, take cover, NOT behind cars!”, she shouted once, then a second time. She ran to a small depression in the earth not far away. In the moment she let herself fall down to the ground and tried to turn around to have a look at the scene, the first shockwave hit her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the first thing I wrote in a very long time. After I played LiS2 in the beginning of July, I was rather devastated by the endings (I got Blood Brothers and not Lone Wolf, but even so). Then I found the fandom on AO3 and could read, at least some, happier endings or divergent universes for the to brothers. I soon knew, that I wanted to write my own ending and share it here, so I hope you like this first chapter/prologue.  
> Thanks to [ Nessilexy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nessilexy/pseuds/Nessilexy) for beta reading.  
> As a final note, English is not my first language, I hope it doesn't show to much :)


	2. Farewell

Daniel and Sean sat on a cliff overlooking the Grand Canyon. Sean just picked up his sketchbook and began to sketch the rising sun behind the large crevice in front of them. Daniel was glad Sean had not lost his ability to produce his drawings, even if he just had one eye left. He looked at the lines his big brother drew, slowly composing the picture.

“Hey, can you draw me as a superhero?”, Daniel asked.

Sean shot a quick look at his brother, then at the canyon and began to draw. Daniel looked away, not wanting to spoil the experience. His thoughts wandered far away to Beaver Creek, his grandparents and Chris, these joyful few days around Christmas, when everything was going to be ok. Something about this place here, the peacefulness and the ability to just enjoy the moment reminded him of these times.

The happy feelings came crushing down however, thinking back to the police car nearly hitting Chris and Chris' look at Daniel when he realized, that Daniel was the one with the superpowers. He’d not felt like a hero then. With a quick shake of his head, he chased off these dark memories.

_A lot happened since then. I have a lot more control now. I wouldn’t even need to use my hands anymore to stop that car._

Daniel was quite proud of the control he had now. If there was one good thing coming out of his stop in Haven Point, it was that Lisbeth encouraged him to use and train his power.

Daniel glanced over, no longer able to suppress his curiosity. Sean seemed just about to finish his sketch, but what Daniel saw did not necessarily help to improve his mood. Superhero-Daniel was floating in the air over the canyon in front of them, a coat fluttering in invisible wind, hands slightly raised, as he normally did when he used his power, and shadowy monsters crawling over the cliff edge.

“Jeez, do I really look that evil? It looks more like a supervillain than a superhero.”

Quickly Daniel looked up to Sean’s face and saw him staring into the distance. He didn’t know, if Sean had heard him but even so, Daniel’s heart, happy, glad and light just moments ago, sunk like an iron block to the bottom of the deepest sea.

_Is this how Sean sees me, more a supervillain than anything else?_

Daniel felt a hand on his shoulder, slightly tugging him towards his big brother’s body.

“You know”, Sean began, “I think you can be either a hero or a villain but, in the end, that’s your decision to make. I love you, enano, and I will do everything in my power to keep you safe but sometimes I have the feeling that I’m not a good guide for you, that I’m failing you…”, he stopped and when Daniel looked up Sean was still staring at the horizon. He gave into the hug and leaned against Sean, his anger blown away and replaced by a deep sadness. If Sean had the feeling he was failing, then it was only because he felt Daniel was making the wrong choices.

Seeing a scorpion moving over the warm stone, he extended his will, lifted it up into the air and pulled it closer. He played a little bit with it, turning it on his back, stretching the occasional leg or the tail, all the while observing Sean from the corner of his eyes. The increased strength in Sean’s grip was prove of his disapproval, but he stayed silent. Slowly and carefully Daniel sat the scorpion down on a stone some feet away.

“Sean? Why don’t you lecture me anymore? Not that I mind normally, but sometimes I miss it, especially when I don’t know what to do. You know, for important stuff.”

A slight chuckle escaped Sean’s chest.

“I’ll always be there to lecture you about important stuff, enano.”

“But you didn’t keep me from killing Lisbeth, wasn’t that important?”

“It was. It was also one of my weakest moments. I wish there were another way to deal with her, or at least, that I’d had the guts to shoot her. I’m sorry I laid this burden on you.”

“I’m fine… I think at least. She tried to use me to hurt you. She deserved death. But I have the feeling Mom is afraid of me.”

Sean was silent for a moment, looking down with an expression in his eyes, Daniel was not sure how to gauge. Was it worry? Sorrow? Guilt?

“Deciding who deserves to live and who doesn’t is an easy way to become a supervillain if you’re not careful Daniel. There may be people who deserve death”, Sean stopped for a moment, seemingly thinking about something before he continued,” but deciding who that is should not be the concern of a ten-year-old boy with superpowers.”

Suddenly, Daniel felt weak and a bit ashamed, accompanied by an intense feeling of loss. He snuggled up to Sean, really needing this feeling of safety right now. 

“As for Karen, you may be right, but she hasn’t lived through the same things we have. And she always ran away from her problems, so don’t worry about it too much. You see, I still lecture you, if I think it’s important.” Sean smiled down at Daniel, but it didn’t really reach his eyes.

“That scorpion before… it was a test, wasn’t it?”

Daniel nodded, avoiding looking up this time. “I wanted to know if you’d be angry with me about using my powers.”

“I see.” One could nearly grab Sean’s displeasure with bare hands. Daniel squirmed under Sean’s arm, not sure if he wanted to stay in the embrace or flee it. “One more lecture then. I don’t think a superhero should use his powers to play with helpless animals or prove a point. But I also think you already know as much. On the other hand, I don’t see a point in telling you off about using your power. It is a part of you and keeping you from using it is about as fair as forcing you not to use your hands.”

Sean was probably right. Daniel had read and seen enough superhero stories to know that they basically never used their powers for their own gain.

 _But_ i _n the end, this is my power and I can decide how to use it. Sean basically said that before._ This reminded Daniel of their own superhero story. 

“Can you tell me what happens when the wolf brothers reach the land of their ancestors?”

A fine smile crept over Sean’s face. “Sure enano”.

Daniel closed his eyes and lay back, listening. The story always had had a soothing influence on him, but this time it was somehow different. The weakness, feeling of loss and rising fear, sparked by the other two emotions, stayed and just didn’t want to disappear even after Sean started talking.

“The two wolf brothers ran far to reach the ancient land of their forefathers. They had lived through many adventures and found respite with a group of dogs, who decided to leave the human world to live a simpler life. Just sometimes some of the dogs had to go to the nearest city to find some food. After one such trip, one of them warned the brothers that hunters had shown up close by, looking for the two wolves.

The next day the brothers ran again towards their destination. “Just over the next hill, little brother”, the big wolf said. “Can you already smell the woods, where we will roam freely?” The little wolf held his snout into the air and took a deep breath. Indeed, he smelled trees and flowers he was not able to see yet. But there was something else, a smell characteristic only to humans. “Do you smell the hunters too?”, the little wolf asked. “Yes, they have gained on us. We have to hurry if we want to make it.” So, they ran up the hill, expecting the view of the promised hunting grounds. Instead, they found a palisade, too high to jump over, too wide to go around. They now could hear the wind in the trees on the other side and the smell had intensified. “Perhaps I can use my superpowers and tear a hole into the wall”, the little wolf said. The big wolf sniffled at the air. “I think we don’t have time. The palisade looks strong and the hunters are near. We have to find a gate or gap in the wall.”

Daniels eyes shot open. He was sure, he was able to obliterate this stupid border wall. Sean had seen his power, how could he still have doubts? And the hunters couldn’t be that close anyway. While anger rose in his chest, cancelling out the other feelings he carried with him through the story, he noticed the Grand Canyon had disappeared and just the cliff where Sean and he sat on remained, with white nothingness all around.

“Sean, what’s happening?”

Apparently oblivious, Sean continued his story, while the cliff edge was eaten and the nothingness drew closer and closer.

“The two brothers ran along the palisade until they saw a large gate in the wall. Approaching the gate, they could make out a large number of hunters already waiting for them and the two wolf brothers stopped dead.” What do we do now?”, the little wolf asked. ”I think this is the end of our journey, little pup. There is nowhere else to go.”

“Sean stop, can’t you see this?” The white has nearly reached Daniel now. He turned his head to where Sean sat, but his brother had vanished, only his voice remained, speaking now from every direction.

“The little wolf said: No worries, with my superpowers we can make a break for it. I can protect us”, then he ran without looking back. The big wolf didn’t have a choice and followed. They sprinted, took leaps and changed directions, while the hunters began to fire on them. The nigh invisible shield of the little wolf blocked the incoming bullets and the little wolf attacked the hunters leaving the ones in his direct path either wounded or dead.”

“Sean STOP!”, Daniel cried, “where are you?! Come back, please!”

In the distance, some lines appeared, drawn on the giant canvas of the white nothingness. First, they were crude strokes, outlining a forest, a palisade with a broken gate, a handful of bodies lying or crawling before the gate and two shapes on the other side. It was as if Sean was drawing the last picture of the story of the wolf brothers. Daniel knew what would come, his heart nearly bursting from anguish. More and more strokes were added, gradually revealing the whole picture.

The two wolfs brothers were on the other side of the palisade, they made it to the land of the ancestors. The little wolf sits head high in the air for a victorious howl, but the big wolf lies there with blood in his fur, head down on the ground and his only eye closed. Daniel stared at the picture in front of him, hearing the howl of the little wolf and smelling the taste of blood in the air. He closed his eyes, he didn’t want to see this. He could hear a change in timbre of the howl, the little wolf must have found his brothers corpse. But the howl pitched higher and higher until it was so uncomfortable, that Daniel opened his eyes.

For a moment he was blinded by the sudden amount of light hitting his irises and disoriented by the ringing in his ears, but soon he was able to make out details of his surroundings. He clearly was lying on the ground. His right shoulder hurt like hell. There was Karen’s car where Sean still sat in the driver’s seat.

Daniel turned his head a little upwards. For a quick moment, he wasn’t able to understand what he saw. He sat up and took in the scene.

In front of him was a wasteland, even more desolate than normal. The border wall was torn out of the ground about 300 feet in every direction. The police cars were scattered like toys in a child’s room, and the buildings on both sides of the border were just…gone. Not even the dry bushes had withstood the blast of Daniels power. They outlined a semicircle going from one part of the damaged wall to the other.

He knew that catastrophic things could happen when he lost control over his powers, but it seemed to get worse.

As usual when that happened, he was exhausted and hungry. However, there was no time, not for this. Standing up, Daniel noticed the bloody wound in his right shoulder.

 _Again?_ _Well, at least it doesn’t bleed too much. Sean will be near hysterical when he sees that for sure…_

Then, he remembered and tears flooded his eyes and rolled down his cheeks. Before, Sean’s death had not been real. Now, after his...dream, he was fully aware that Sean was gone. He nearly couldn’t keep himself from dropping to his knees again. Once more, his power activated again unconsciously. A scream from the deepest recesses of his soul, a cry of pure pain sent stones and pebbles in all directions but his power also stabilized his stance, keeping him from falling over _._

 _I hate my powers_. _All of this wouldn’t have happened without them. Sean would still be alive and we’d be back in Seattle, together._

Daniel stumbled back to the car. Sean’s hands were still clinging to his throat, as if he were gasping for air or trying to keep the blood from pooling out. Daniel climbed into the car and buried his face in Sean’s arm.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I should’ve listened to you. This is all my fault.”

Normally, Sean would have comforted him now, saying there was nothing wrong with him and it was not Daniel’s fault at all. Now there was no one to calm him, no one to tether Daniel to the idea of normality and a happy life. The tears seemed to have no end and Daniel lost all sense of time while he wept. Even if he didn’t admit it before, he knew he’d lost the most important person in the world. The one anchor to keep grounded, the one voice who told him what to do, even if he had ignored it a lot.

* * *

  


The characteristic “chop chop chop” of a helicopter woke Daniel out of his stupor. Quickly glancing out of the still open door of the car, he saw it circling over the scattered and ruined leftovers of the road blockage. It reminded him that he couldn’t stay here. He looked at his big brother, thinking for a moment.

 _First things first_.

With the help of his powers he moved Sean’s arms to a more peaceful position before removing the dried blood on Sean’s skin. After he opened the driver’s side door Sean floated out of the car and a little further away from the road into the desert. When Daniel thought he found a good spot, he put the body down gently.

“Please, come back to me. I need you. I need you to tell me what to do and where to go”.

Naturally, there was no answer, only the wind tugging at Daniels torn clothes. Stones began to fly towards Sean’s burial site, one after the other covering more and more of the corpse. Before the last stones were set into place, Daniel ran back to the car, looking through his own backpack and taking out the power bear figurine, which accompanied them from the first days of the journey. Once back at the mound he laid the figure on Sean’s chest.

“Keep him safe Power Bear, ok? He needs you more than I”, he sobbed.

Finding the last stone, the one to finish the grave and cover up Sean’s head, was a bit of a challenge. Daniel went around and looked for something special, even digging some rocks out of the ground he noticed with his power. In the end he settled for a rather large, flat stone in the usual ochre, but streaked with some darker, nearly black stripes. He broke off a small piece of the stone in the rough shape of a canine tooth before settling the stone over the last opening. Daniel had the feeling that his heart was replaced with an empty space. The chopper he saw before didn’t matter anymore, nor did the sirens he could hear from far away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all who commented and left kudos on the first chapter. I really appreciate the feedback and enjoy interacting with you. 
> 
> This is for sure not the happiest chapter aorund, therefore I have some trouble asking you all to enjoy reading it. But I hope it makes you interested enough in the story to stick with Daniel for his journey. 
> 
> Thanks again to [ Nessilexy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nessilexy/pseuds/Nessilexy) for beta reading.


	3. Choosing a way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's some racism and racist slurs in this chapter.

The sun had already set when Daniel woke from his sleep. After the burial of Sean, he went back to the car and sat in the driver’s chair. His thoughts were filled with memories of Sean and his Dad. He cried until he fell asleep from exhaustion. Now he noticed the flashing lights of police cars on US soil. They had brought in floodlights as well. He also noted the stinging pain in his shoulder and remembered the new bullet wound. Daniel grabbed Sean’s backpack and looked through it. He knew Sean had some bandages left over. He laid out everything on the seat beside him until he found what he was looking for.

_So, what did Dad do when I cut myself helping him cook? First, he’d washed it out._

He took the canteen and poured a bit of water over the wound, soaking the bandage he received in the police station in the process _._ Both wounds burnt like fire for a moment.

_Just breathe, it will go away soon **,**_ he thought, while making an effort to keep back tears.

 _Now, a bit of salve._ He looked at the one Sean had for his eye. _That ‘ll do._ Finishing the work with some gauze, he was quite pleased with the outcome. He leaned back in the seat, drinking a sip of disgusting warm water.

_Now, what shall I do. I could go to Puerto Lobos. But I can’t even speak Spanish. Perhaps it’s better if I turn back. I need to find new clothes, that’s for sure. And I probably should seek some help, but who would help me now? Perhaps somebody in Away? Oooh perhaps I can see Chris again and Claire and Stephen. Or maybe I can meet up with Finn and join the gang for good._

He felt excited from all the sudden possibilities and deeply ashamed only seconds later, when he remembered the price for this freedom.

He picked up Sean’s sketchbook. If there was only one thing he wanted to keep, then it was this. Daniel never actually read through it, but now it was the best thing he could imagine. A connection to Sean, a treasure to keep and – as far as Daniel was concerned – also a fount of wisdom to be explored. He put the book in his own backpack, added the canteen and the materials to tend to his wound. Some other things followed, while he threw out some of his own belongings. When he was finished, he tried to lift the backpack. It was heavy but nothing he couldn’t handle, especially when he assisted with his power.

_So, now I need to cross the border again._

He immediately realized how ironic that was. It was him who forced the car into Mexico, him who made the officers shoot at them and killed Sean in the process and now he turned back. Somehow it felt like the ultimate betrayal of Sean. 

_But you understand, don’t you? I don’t see another way. There’s nothing here for me._

With a last look towards the car and the grave, he approached the border. The flood lights seemed to replace the former wall, illuminating the whole destroyed section. Daniel stayed in the dark and moved up to the wall some hundred feet away. Using it as a screen, he stealthily shifted closer to the gap until he was able to make out voices on the other side.

“You are lucky, you didn’t go into the centre. It is just awful there. Every single person who was assigned to this arrest is dead and most of them are not in one piece anymore. I’ve never seen anything like it. Some people were nearly cut in half…” There was a moment of silence.

_EVERYONE is dead and I did this?_

The realization that Daniel had killed so many people hit him like a meteor from space. His feelings were a wild mixture, pride, strength, fear, shame, courage, remorse, all of them and more showed up and went away like lightning in a stormy night.

A second voice answered: “What about Agent Flores?” A short period of silence, then “Fuck. Do we know anything at all?”

“Not really. We know the Diaz brothers broke out of custody in the El Rey police station and took the car. Agent Flores called for backup to stop them, but after she’d set up the roadblock there was no more contact with her. We have not a single clue what happened here. Some of the dashcams recorded the Diaz’s car moving forward, but apparently it didn’t ram anything. Our cars flew just out of the way.”

“Yes, I saw the footage too before we came here. I stood right by your side”, the other voice answered sourly.

“Of course. Sorry.”

“What about the wall?”

“Nothing new they’d tell me. It is as if a massive blast wave hit and sent the wall flying. But there is no crater that would indicate such a powerful explosion. It should have hit the boy’s car too, but there it stands apparently undamaged. There has been no sign of the kids as well. I think it’s unlikely they survived the shooting though. Oh, and the whole incident has been classified as a terrorist attack.”

“Normally I’d say they are crazy, there is not a chance on the whole fucking world that two kids did this. But somehow everywhere these two go, destruction follows. I’m also not convinced that they didn’t make it to Mexico alive. I didn’t see many bullets hit the car. Ah shit, why can’t we just go over there and look at the car…. Yeah, yeah I know. But then where are these lazy bastard? The attack happened hours ago, one would think the Beaners would’ve shown up by now.”

“Nah, not their fault this time. Because everything is so strange here, the higher ups didn’t want to include the Mexicans. Not sure if they changed their mind yet or not.”

Daniel didn’t pay any more attention. The conversation was like a very cold shower, washing away any desire to stay.

_Terrorists? Are they crazy? I have to get away from here, fast._

Lying on the floor he crawled forward into the shade thrown by the remains of the wall. A quick glance around the corner showed him the origin of the light. The two men speaking he couldn’t see, they had to stand behind the lamp. That complicated things quite considerably. He moved a bit back and weighed his options. He remembered Sean’s drawing of him, floating over the Grand Canyon.

_But that was a dream? Did Sean really draw me there?_

He remembered going to the Canyon with Sean but he could not really recollect what had happened.

_Am I really forgetting stuff? I’m forgetting good times with Sean?_

A single sob escaped after which Daniel immediately held his breath. On the other side of the wall the two voices fell silent.

_Shit. Well now or never._

He tried to lift himself with his power into the air to hover over the wall in a dark spot. Immediately a knife was embedded in his brain. He suppressed a cry, more or less successfully, and steadied himself against the wall, panting. 

“Did you hear that?”

“Yes, somebody is over there, sounded like a gasp. Show yourself, there’s not a chance you will get past us unnoticed. “

Daniel stood completely still, not moving one muscle.

”We should inform Garner, this being a terrorist attack and all. He said that they might still be around for a second round.”

“Whatever “they” might be. As far as we know, there is not a living thing in a five-mile radius.”

_I gotta hurry up._

Not caring as much about being detected anymore, he took some steps, shot another glance and flipped the floodlight, which illuminated this part of the border, around, blinding the two officers in the process. They both raised their hands immediately, trying to shield the eyes. Both had guns in their hand.

“What the fuck, what’s happening?”

Daniel scurried around the corner, keeping the two men in his view.

One had moved to the side to get out of the light and regain his vision, eventually turning the floodlight to its original position, while the other just turned his back to the blinding light.

“I think you are right. Something isn’t right here.” He held the walkie – talkie to his mouth. By then, Daniel had moved into the dark of the night.

“Call for backup, I definitely heard something move around over there. Shit, I cannot see anything.” The officer pointed in the general direction of Daniel.

_If they call other people here, I will be found. That’s not gonna happen. I will not be running from anyone ever again._

His head turned away he extended his arm…

_Deciding who deserves to live and who doesn’t, is an easy way to become a supervillain_

Daniel froze. The dream again, or was that a proper memory?

_Sometimes I have the feeling that I’m failing you…_

Daniel’s hand dropped to his side.

_I don’t want to become a supervillain. But I’m so tired of running and hiding._

He used some dust and sand whirling around him, to obscure his person before sneaking away.

_I can still deal with them if they come too close._

Daniel had the feeling that a hand was grasping his shoulder. Of course there was nothing when he looked, but strangely he had a feeling of being backed.

He could see flashlights moving around and searching the spot where he crossed the border into the US, although making out details through the dust cloud was difficult. One or two beams even hit his small dust devil, but there was no shout out, no indication that they’d seen something suspicious.

He had to avoid some more people a little later, when he approached the semi-circle formed by the dry bushes, but going around them was quite easy. There were only some cars illuminating the area and four officers guarding the perimeter. As soon as he felt he was in a safe distance, he let the dust drop and turned towards the road. Walking beside it was probably the safest route to take if he didn’t want to get lost.

Sometimes, when he heard or saw a car he hid with the same trick as before, other times he just laid down and covered himself under a blanket of dust and sand. He felt distinctly reminded of the first few weeks of their journey, when Sean and he walked miles and miles. He shook his head.

_I don’t want to think about Sean right now. There will be time later._

When dawn approached, he found a small barn, perfect as a cover for the day and a resting place. Of course, it was closed off with a heavy lock, but that wasn’t even close to a challenge anymore.

He squeezed through the small opening between the two doors. Even though the sky outside had changed colour to a light grey, inside it was still pitch black. He felt his way along the left wall until he found a corner. It wasn’t very comfortable sitting down there but stumbling around in the dark would just get him hurt. Using the backpack as pillow, he lay down and fell asleep instantly.

Muted light filled the barn when Daniel woke. He didn’t get up right away and wanted to sleep again, fleeing the memories that waited while being awake. It was too late. Hot tears welled up and rolled down his cheeks. There was no fleeing reality. He searched around in the backpack and took out the sketchbook. Page by page he went through it, mainly looking at the pictures Sean had drawn. There were some, he hadn’t seen yet, like the ones when Daniel had been in Haven Point and Sean tried to find him. He was so absorbed with looking at the images and remembering that he heard the three voices approaching only when they were at the barn door. The fear of being discovered immediately let the flood of tears stop.

“Hey, the lock’s open.”

“Shit, I hope nobody stole our ATVs.”

Daniel looked to the large space in the centre of the building. He had missed the three ATV’s and all the other vehicles in the barn in the dark of the night.

_Maybe they won't see me if I stay quiet and don’t move._

He tried to make himself invisible in his corner, but there was nothing to cover himself with. 

The two barn doors opened and three teenagers walked in.

“Phew, they are still here. But why was the lock open then? We didn’t forget to lock it last time we were here, did we?”, a boy with a large ear piercing asked. He reminded Daniel a little bit of Finn, though his hair was much shorter and he didn’t have any tattoos. One of the others was rather tall and skinny, with red hair and freckles. His very fair skin was covered in a white substance, probably sunscreen. The last one was about the same height as the first one, with a large scar over the right eyebrow.

“Dad would kill me if something was stolen because I didn’t make sure the shed was closed”, the scarred one replied. All three of them looked around. Daniel observed the three boys from the corner of his eyes. Fake Finn saw him first and gestured in his direction, making Daniel’s presence known to the others.

“Hey who are you, what are you doing here?”, he asked.

“I… My name ‘s Daniel. I was just sleepin’ in here.” He put the sketchbook back into his backpack.” I was just leaving.”, he said standing up.

The redhead came closer and looked at him quizzically, while the two others stood at the entrance of the barn, arms crossed and looking at Daniel like he was some kind of an animal in a zoo, interesting perhaps but not really belonging here. “You alone?” the red-haired boy asked.

“Yeah, I’m on my own.”

Saying it out loud, made Sean’s absence more real than ever before. Daniel buried his face in his hands, his back sliding down the wall, the whole body shaken by sobs and tears, it was just too much. Like a clockwork with a damaged gear that suddenly broke apart, he stopped working.

_Dad, Sean, where are you? Why did you have to leave me? Why? WHY? Why can’t I be just dead as well. Everything would be so much easier. It’s all my fault anyway. Both of you would still be alive, if it wasn’t for me._

For a moment, the three boys stood there, baffled and not sure what to do. Kneeling down, the redhead reached out with one hand to Daniels healthy shoulder.

”My name’s Tyler. These are Tim and Zach.” He first gestured to the boys behind him, but Daniel didn’t look. “Hey, calm down. It’s gonna be alright. What happened to you?”

Daniel didn’t answer, he couldn’t at the moment. The words, the hand on his shoulder – although comfortable – reminded him of Sean and just sent him deeper into the rabbit hole of his misery.

“Bring me my backpack”, Tyler said over the shoulder. Daniel just saw how the backpack was placed near the boy in front of him.

“You want something cool to drink? Or a Chock-O-Crisp?.”

It took a minute, but then Daniel glanced up with a tear-streaked face. “Yes, please.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. 
> 
> I wasn't sure, how I'd approach Daniel's journey after the border, so that it doesn't become boring. The introduction of new characters seems to work reasonably well for LiS2 so why not take the same approach 😉  
> Stay tuned for the next chapter.


	4. Helping Hands

Chock-O-Crips always had a soothing effect on Daniel's mind and just mentioning it helped keep him from drowning in his sorrow. One hand closed around the presented chocolate bar. With the other he attempted to wipe away the tears on his cheeks but he couldn’t lift his arm high enough. He stared at it for a moment, then he used his teeth instead to tear the wrapping open. When he closed his eyes, he was back in Seattle, in his home together with Sean and Dad for a short while. Sean was just about to decide who could eat the last Chock-O-Crisp bar when he felt the hand on his shoulder again.

“Feeling better?” Tyler sat cross legged in front of him, looking a little bit worried but also curious.

Daniel shrugged his shoulders and winced immediately. The pain in his arm grew by the minute even when he didn’t move. He put the Crisp down carefully and made sure that no dirt or dust could spoil his treat, then he placed his hand gently on the injured shoulder. It felt warm and wet.

“What happened? Can I have a look?” Tyler pointed at the shoulder.

“Oh common. He‘s calmed down, he wanted to leave and we were planning to drive around a little. It’s just a little kid who hurt himself a bit, don’t make such a fuss about it.”

”Yeah, let him go and we’ll forget that he squatted here.” Tim and Zach, Daniel wasn’t sure yet who’s who, were getting annoyed.

“Dude have you seen the wrappings around his arm? No way this is just a normal injury.”

“Whatever, he should be thankful we don’t go to mom and dad and tell on him. He would be back in Mexico in no time.”

”Let’s go, Tyler, or do you wanna stay with your newfound pup .”

 _You have no idea what this “pup” can do._ Daniel observed the two boys. It was a miracle he kept his powers under control during his crying fit, but now with increased stress and anger against Zack and Tim surging up, this precarious control was about to slip through his fingers.

Tyler hesitated, looking back and forth between his friends and the injured stranger in the barn. He frowned. “Are you gonna be alright?”

Daniel stared blankly at him.

_Of course not. But what do you care?_

Tyler took a bottle of coke out of his backpack and put it in Daniels' vicinity, then he stood up and joined the two others. They mounted the ATVs and seconds later the barn was filled with the noise of running motors. Speeding out the barn gate only Tyler glanced quickly in Daniels direction, then he too was gone. If it wasn’t for the coke and the Chock-O-Crisp it could’ve been a dream.

Now that nobody was around anymore, the healing qualities of the Chock-O-Crisp faded and Daniel felt the ultimate emptiness of being alone once more. He clasped the chocolate bar like a castaway would hold a saving lifeline. The moment where he was able to fight against his grief was gone. Sliding sideways down the wall he curled up into a ball, held the crisp in both hands and closed his eyes. A soft howl formed in his throat, not one of the howls of joy he shared with Sean, but one of anguish and despair. He felt his powers activate, felt the dust swirling around him and the ground shaking.

_Please, no. Let it stop._

Naturally, it didn’t. With every sob, a tremor went into the earth, with every memory more power was added to the force of the wind. The chocolate bar by far wasn’t enough to calm him down anymore. Desperately he grasped for Sean’s sketchbook and pressed it to his chest. The barn began to creak under the ever-increasing strength of the winds, loose parts were slamming against the walls, inside and outside.

“What the hell?”

Tyler stood there, in the entrance to the barn, looking puzzled. Daniel hadn’t heard the ATV approaching or stopping, hadn’t known that he wasn’t alone anymore. Without thinking he extended a hand and slammed the older boy in the opposite wall.

The shock of what he just did, sobered him up almost immediately. Still clutching the sketchbook to the chest he walked over to Tyler, who leaned against the wall seemingly unconscious.

“Tyler? Hey Tyler, wake up. Please. Please, wake up.” Daniel shook the boy gingerly, afraid to hurt him more than he already had.

“What, where…” Tyler glanced quickly at Daniel. “Don’t hurt me, please.” With fear in his eyes he pushed Daniel with both hands and scrambled backwards. 

Even though the push wasn’t very forceful, Daniel cried out in pain and took some steps back. Holding his hurt shoulder, he looked at Tyler sitting there like a frightened rabbit in front of a rattlesnake, only inches away from the sketchbook Daniel dropped. The wind picked up again, this time not fuelled by grief but fury.

“What was that? You... You just extended a hand and I flew.” He crawled into the corner of the barn, bringing as much space between himself and Daniel as possible. “Are you some kind of freak?”.

The question hit hard and let Daniel speechless for a moment. It was a question he learned not to ask, not to talk about.

“No. Yes. I don’t know… Look I’m sorry, I didn’t want to hurt you. You just surprised me and I was afraid.”

“So, it was you who yanked me through the air?” Daniel had troubles reading Tyler’s expression. There were conflicting emotions all over. Daniel retreated a bit further and dropped to the ground.

“You nearly killed me, you could at least give me an answer.”

“If I wanted you dead, you would be”. _Shit. Definitely the wrong thing to say_. Tyler tried to push deeper in his corner, although that seemed hardly possible. The curiosity fighting with fear that had lit up his eyes seconds ago vanished, while they darted around to find an escape. 

Daniel raised his hands, like people did in films if they wanted to talk. He was a bit confused when Tyler flinched. His gaze was fixated on Daniels hands with panic written all over his face. Realizing Tyler felt threatened by his raised hands - they were Daniel’s weapons after all - he let them drop again, expecting the familiar pain that came with moving his arm too much and too quickly. He could almost see how the following moments would play out. Tyler would try to flee and Daniel would need to get away in a hurry himself. 

_Will he stay if I talk? He already knows anyway._

“Yes, that was me. I’m really, really sorry.”

“What the hell? How? Magic isn’t real.”

“One day I just had this power. My brother trained me and…” Daniel stopped and gulped heavily.

“Your brother? Where is he? I thought you were alone.”

“I am. He … died. No, he was killed. Yesterday.”

Both hands pressed to the ground, he felt the tremors starting again.

_He felt every bullet hitting his shield. Just flies to be swatted away. Bodies and cars flying around like toys of a giant. The nearly unnoticeable sound of a single fly penetrating the vehicle. Seans desperate gasps for air…_

Tylers cry brought him back to reality. “Daniel? Snap out of it! You ‘ll make the barn collapse!” The building was undeniably shaking and creaking alarmingly.

“I can’t control it. It just happens!”

“Then you better hurry up and get a grip on your … magic. Otherwise you **will** kill someone eventually.”

A sad smile appeared for an instant on Daniel’s face. If he only knew.

There was only one instance he remembered when he was able to regain control. Back at the Three Seals Motel when Sean took Daniel in his arms and they cried together. This wouldn't do. Instinctively his mind wandered to Beaver Creek and Chris - to when Super Wolf was called to Captain Spirit’s squad. His super nose was needed to find Shark-Stinger. Although they didn’t quite manage to pin him down, the mission could be called a success nonetheless because they found another ally against Mantroid in Silver Runner. 

When he felt the ground steadying, he opened his eyes again. Tyler wasn’t in his corner anymore. Instead he was standing in the entrance of the barn. It was exactly what Daniel feared would happen. He considered what to do. Slowly the doors began to close.

Tyler noticed it, Daniel was sure, but even so he didn’t try to escape. “Really bro? Zach and Tim will be back sometime you know. Unless you actually finish me off, there’s really no point in locking me up.”

The movement of the doors stopped. Tyler was right. It was past time to leave. Daniel stood up, picked up the sketchbook and stumbled to his backpack. The bottle of coke, still standing where Daniel spent his night, disappeared in it as well as the book. He knew he should carry the thing on the back, but he doubted very much that he was able to with his arm throbbing as it was, so it just floated through the air at his side.

Tyler silently observed him for the whole time. As Daniel wanted to walk out of the barn, he finally opened his mouth again.

“Where do you want to go now?” Now that Daniel didn’t seem to be an immediate threat anymore, curiosity and concern had taken over his facial expression once more. Or was it just pity?

“The hell do I know. North. Maybe. I have friends there.”

Tyler looked at him blankly.

“What?! I don’t even know where we are. I was just following the fucking road.”

“You know you’re bleeding?”

“...What?” He looked at his arm and saw the red wetness glistening in the bandages. It didn’t even hurt that much anymore, but the stain was clearly growing.

“It’s cause I shoved you.” Tyler was staring at his feet. “I can bring you to my place and my mom will patch you up.”

“Thanks, but I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

“Why? We have everything you need. My mom is a nurse in the local clinic. You shouldn’t walk around like this.”

_He’s right. But his mom would just call the police._

Daniel shook his head. “I can’t.”

“I won't tell her about your power, promise. If that’s why you don’t want to come.”

“It’s not only that. It’s just.. I.. uhm…”

“Ok, look. Just come with me, we can discuss this at my place. I have a second room where my parents pretty much never go in.”

_Still a bad idea, but I need help._

“Can I help with your backpack? It looks heavy.”

“Nah, that’s fine. Thanks. I want to keep it close.”

“You’re not very trusting, are you? Ok, let's at least take the ATV. We’re faster and you don’t have to let the backpack float beside you.”

* * *

It seemed like ages since Daniel was in such a cosy room. There was a comfortable couch, a large TV, a Playbox and even a mini fridge for some cool drinks.

Daniel let himself fall onto the couch. Tyler was going to pick up medical supplies and left him alone for a while. The cool air of an air-conditioned room, the softness of the couch and the relative security of this room in the basement of Tyler's home relieved some of the tension he felt since he left Away. No one knew he was hiding here – besides Tyler of course. Daniel’s eyes fell shut. _I used too much power,_ he thought before falling asleep.

“Daniel. Daniel! Wake up!” Tyler was gently shaking him. “I took a look at your arm. You really should show this to my mom.” 

Daniel groggily looked at Tyler, not registering what he was saying. “Hm, what?” He looked down, saw the bloody bandages and the pain and memories hit him at once. The wound didn’t look too good indeed. It felt hot and was still bleeding.

“You were shot.” It wasn’t a question. Tyler took some disinfectant and sprayed it onto the injury. It was actually not painful; it almost felt nice and cool.

“Yes, twice”, Daniel gestured towards the bandages over his ribcage and arm.

“Your brother was killed in the same shooting? We have to tell the police.”

“NO!” Tyler jerked back, probably more than he would under normal circumstances. The lights began to flicker.

Tyler reached out to Daniels arm. “Calm down, you can’t do that in here. Why can’t we go to the police? Are you here illegally?”

“No it’s not that. The police shot Sean… because of me.”

Tyler didn’t say anything more after that. He treated the injury and got a soft-drink for himself after that. He sat down, opened the bottle and took a large gulp. “I think you have to tell me a little bit more now.”

Daniel considered it. Now that he was here in the house, it was riskier to just disappear and leave Tyler behind. Also, Tyler had been nice since he saw Daniel in the barn and even after Daniel catapulted him through the air. It would have been easy for him to get away after the storm settled, easy to leave Daniel behind. 

_I would’ve. I would’ve run home and told dad everything. But maybe it’s like when Sean brought the injured puppy home, even though it scratched and tried to bite him._

So Daniel began his story. He told him how Sean and him ran away after Esteban was shot – he left out the first time his power activated – out of fear of being separated. He told about the owner of the gas station and the cabin in the woods. About Claire, Stephen and Chris. Recounted the trip to Humboldt County, that they tried to rob Merrill and that it was his own fault Sean lost his eye. He told how Sean found him again, but had to escape custody and steal a car for that. He ended with the destruction of the wall, how he was shot the first time, the escape from El Rey police station and the blockade at the border post. He didn’t mention Sean's death or how he was wounded, but Tyler seemed to understand nonetheless. Or he was just too preoccupied from what he heard.

The older boy was just sitting there motionless, eyes unfocused. Daniel wasn’t sure what upset Tyler exactly. The worst parts of the story he ‘d left out. Daniel was about to shake him, but when he was only an inch away from Tyler, he leapt up and out of the room. “Ty…” at the last moment Daniel kept himself from yelling out. The instincts honed by the long journey south kicked in again. He went to the fridge, took out some bottles of soda and water and tried to fit them into the backpack. This took some minutes and before he finished, Tyler returned.

“You ‘re alone.” Daniel's heart felt a thousand pounds lighter.

Tyler nodded. “What did you expect? Me going and telling my mom that there’s a fugitive with superpowers in her basement? That if you lose control the whole house would come crashing down? Especially if I turned you in. Also, I don’t think you’re a bad person, but you have been dealt some of the shitiest cards in life I’ve ever seen. On the other hand, you probably should stop using that power.”

Daniel just walked over to the older boy and hugged him. “Thank you.” After a moment of hesitation, Tyler closed his arms around Daniel.

“I have to bring back the ATV and then it’s nearly dinner time. I’ll be back and bring you some food. Try to relax a little, perhaps watch some TV or play some games, just don’t turn the volume up. Mom would come and check.”

For the next few hours Daniel did exactly that. First he zapped through the different channels on the TV, looking if there was Hawt Dawg Man running somewhere – there wasn’t. Instead he just played some Minecraft on the Playbox. He was tempted to login to his own account, contact Noah and have a look at their mutual fortress. But what if Noah didn’t want to talk to him anymore. He might even have blown up their castle because Daniel just left and never contacted him. He decided to start a new map. 

Tyler returned with some bread, cheese and ham. While Daniel was wolfing the food down, a female voice rang from upstairs:

“Tyler, can you come up quickly? Arthur Cooper just called, he wants to talk to you. Something about a kid you and the Anderson boys met this morning.”

Daniels head swiveled around, fixating on Tyler who looked nearly as shocked as he was.

“I didn’t tell anyone anything, I swear. I’ll be right back. Please stay here. And stay quiet.”

About five minutes after Tyler went upstairs, he opened the door silently and held a finger to his mouth.

“You have to be quick now. Officer Cooper will be here soon. Here’s a new - well, used T-shirt of mine, but it’s new for you. It’ll hide the bandages and you can ditch your torn rag. “

“Why is the police coming here?”

“Apparently Zach and Tim told their parents about you and also that I turned around. There was a report on the evening news today, with a photo of you and your brother. Zach recognized you and called the police. The cop’s a friend of my dad and said he wanted to talk to me.”

A worried expression settled on Daniels face. The room didn’t feel like safety anymore, it was a trap. Also, quite lucky Tyler hadn’t seen the news himself. They most likely would include the dead officers.

“Anyway, take these painkillers with you. And here”, Tyler said,rummaging through his pockets, ”some coins. You can call a friend of yours.”

Daniel finished changing the moment Tyler stopped talking. Tyler ushered him out silently and led him to the back entrance.

“Follow the road to the next village. There’s a bus station there, but the bus only comes about twice a week I think. There’s a payphone.” A reassuring pat on the shoulders sent Daniel on his way.

“I got your back, I promise. You were already gone when I returned to the barn.”

Late at night Daniel reached the unlit bus stop. There was a bench, the payphone and a “Bus” sign, but otherwise nothing indicated the station. Daniel couldn’t even see the next buildings; only a faint light in the distance indicated that there were people around. He looked at the coins Tyler gave him.

_Not enough for a bus ticket, that’s for sure. But who should I call then? I don’t have any numbers. Did Sean write some down in his notebook?_

He went through the pages of the book one by one. Since he was just looking for numbers it was a relatively fast process, even though the lighting situation was anything but perfect. Daniel had no luck in finding any numbers until he reached the end of the book, where Sean had stored some letters. At the bottom of the second he found what he was looking for. 

He dialed the number. Daniel was so nervous and excited every ring made his heart jump. Five rings, six…

“Hahaha, shut up, Neil. Yeah, hello?”

“Hey Finn. It’s Daniel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me a bit longer to finish this chapter, because I changed how I approach and plan the story a bit. I will try to upload new chapters within two weeks of each other from now on.
> 
> A huge thanks goes to my two beta readers [souvenirsfromapastlife](https://archiveofourown.org/users/souvenirsfromapastlife) and [Bracco](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bracco). 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for your kudos and comments.


	5. Shared Burden

“Hey Finn. It’s Daniel.”

A moment of shocked silence followed.

“Daniel? Holy shit, wait a moment.”

The voices and loud music in the background faded.

“Man, I never expected you to call me. How are you? Have you made it to Mexico? How’s Sean?”

Daniel had no idea what to say. This was too much.

“Daniel?” - “Daniel, talk to me.”

He just pressed the receiver against his ear and listened to the familiar voice, eyes closed.

The normal, joyful tone of Finn's voice changed to a more mature, sincere and concerned person Daniel never experienced when staying with the drifters.

“Daniel, what happened?”

Daniels' voice trembled when he said the words that would change Finn's world forever. “Finn, Sean‘s dead.”

Sean and Daniel talked very briefly about Finn when they were in Away. Sean told Daniel that he had been falling in love with Finn before the heist. That he saw him in the hospital and they talked. Daniel hadn’t had the feeling that Sean was over Finn. Apparently the same went for Finn. Although muted, as if Finn held his palm over the mic of his phone, he could hear, “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

More than a minute passed in which neither Daniel nor Finn said a word. Daniel somehow was content with knowing Finn was at the other end of the line, knowing with certainty Finn would speak again, knowing he would find a solution.

Nearly whispering Finn spoke: “What happened?”

“We managed to get to the border. I blew a hole in the wall, Finn! But then, some assholes came and we were caught. I had to free Sean from jail. Then we drove to a border post. Maybe Sean thought we’d be fast enough to avoid more police. They were waiting for us, Finn. Sean wanted to give up, but I couldn’t. Not after what we’ve been through. So, I drove through the ranks, deflected bullets, pushed everything out of the way. But one bullet managed to hit the windshield and … Sean.” Daniel didn’t want to tell Finn about all the dead officers, at least not yet, not on the phone. The silence after Daniel’s short monologue was deafening. “Finn, are you there?”

“Of course, I’m here, lil man.” He’d reversed to his happy, “nothing bothers me” persona. “Where are you now?”

“Somewhere in Arizona. A little north of the border. I saw a road sign somewhere. The next town is called Why, I think.”

“OK, listen. Can you call me back in about 10 minutes?”

“No. Finn please. Don’t hang up.”

“I’ll be there when you call again, promise. It will only be a couple of minutes. I need to make some calls.”

A glance to the payphone showed Daniel that he was almost out of time anyway. “OK. But I don’t have a watch. I left the one Sean gave me in the camp.”

“That’s fine, buddy. Just wait some time and remember: Ten minutes are way longer than you think.”

The following minutes were pure torture. Waiting in the middle of nowhere. Hoping Finn would know what to do. He was walking rounds around the bench.

_ How long is one round? Are ten minutes already over? _

After twenty rounds he called again. The busy-tone answered. Daniel’s heart began to race.

_ Ten minutes are over, right? Did I call the wrong number? _

He called again immediately. Still busy.

_ What if Finn doesn’t pick up anymore? What if he ghosts me now. Nah, he wouldn’t do that. Or would he? Ok, ten more rounds around the bench. That must be ten minutes then. _

He dialled the number again. It rang and Daniel allowed himself to breathe again.

“Finn?”

“Yeah buddy, it’s me. But you know, it has been barely five minutes.”

“No that was longer! Even if not, please don’t make me hang up again.”

“Nah, don’t worry lil man. I tried to contact Cass or somebody else from the gang. Cass hung up as soon as she heard my voice and I couldn’t reach the others. I’m sending a friend to pick you up at the gas station in Why. He will bring you here. Can you get there?”

“What, why aren’t you coming?”

“I’m not allowed to leave California, at least not on such short notice. I’m on probation. Can you reach the gas station, Daniel? This is important.”

“I think so. Will take a while probably.”

“Ben’ll be there tomorrow evening. He’ll wait for you. Only go into the town after nightfall, you hear me?”

“You don’t have to tell me.”

“Good. Ben’ll wait through the night. If you’re not there, he will return the night after. Call me again if you’re in trouble or anything.”

“I will.” Daniel knew the end of the call was coming and his heart felt light and heavy at the same time.

“I can’t wait to see you.”

“Me too, Finn,” Daniel sniffed

“See you soon, Daniel. Stay strong.”

“Thank you. I knew you’d know what to do. See you soon.”

Daniel was looking forward to meeting Finn again and with new strength, he started walking.

_ It will be so good hanging out with Finn. He knows and understands. I’ll be safe with him. _

When dawn approached, he looked for a place to stay hidden and safe from the sun. Finding a small cave that reminded him a little of the overhang in Mt. Rainier National Park, he settled down for the day. To his surprise, he was able to think about the start of the journey without directly losing himself again. He was still sad but for the moment he was able to cherish the good memories.

He woke from sleep when the sun set on the horizon and the air was getting a bit cooler. He had had a weird dream, but he couldn’t quite remember. Something about Chris, something that made Daniel anxious.

_ No time to think about it now. I must get to Why. _

Why couldn’t really be called a town, although it was larger than the cluster of houses he encountered before. Sneaking through the buildings was relatively easy. There were no street lamps and the light from inside was easily avoided. Once he reached the main street he was able to make out the billboard for the gas station. Carefully he snuck towards it looking out for people on the streets. Approaching the parking lot, he could see four cars. There was only one person around, leaning against a small, light coloured vehicle. Trying to approach without making a noise, Daniel saw the flaw in Finn’s plan.

_ What if Ben went to the toilet and this is somebody else? What if Ben didn’t make it? What if the police were waiting for me? _

He extended his power and held the person where he was, with only the head able to move. He stepped in front of the young man. He definitely didn’t look like one of the drifters. He didn’t have any tattoos and only three rings through his right ear. The hair was cut short and all his clothes were in one piece… and clean.

“Are you Ben?”

He nodded with wide eyes. Daniel could feel him struggling against the unseen force, but there was no escape. He released Ben's head.

“Holy fucking shit. Finn was vague, but he said you were special. Had no idea what to expect. Just said I shouldn’t be scared. Fuck.” Daniel guessed Finn’s talk didn’t really help. “Let go already.”

“Sorry. I had to be sure.”

“I hear you, but do something like this again and you can walk to San Diego. Finn’s a good guy but even for him I wouldn’t do that normally. Hella suspicious, picking up a child in the middle of nowhere. Get in the car.”

_ As if I would let you kick me out. Wait... _

“Normally you wouldn’t do this for Finn? Why are you here then?”

Ben looked at him a bit annoyed. “I was there when you called him.”

_ What’s that supposed to mean? Can’t you give a straight answer? _

Daniel was starting to dislike this friend of Finn’s. Without another word, he started climbing into the car.

“Not the front seat. You are too easily visible there. Get in the back.”

_ How can such an ass be Finn’s friend _ , Daniel thought, while the car was driving out of Why.

They stopped at a gas station about an hour away from San Diego. Daniel had to pee and Ben was going to buy something to drink and eat. Leaving the toilet Daniel was nearly run over by Ben, who seemed very anxious about something.

“Dude, what did you do!?” Ben grabbed Daniel by the shoulder and held a newspaper in front of him. Daniel didn’t understand until he saw the headline.  **Massacre at Mexican border.** There was also an old picture of him and one of Sean, which was apparently taken in the hospital after Sean lost his eye. “They say it was a terrorist attack in the article.”

Daniel turned to stone. They really called it a terrorist attack. How could this nightmare get any worse? He looked around, looking for a way to bail. “I don’t remember.” 

Ben looked at him with a mixture of doubt, worry and fear. “We need to move. Let’s go.”

Once in the car Ben started talking immediately. Daniel didn’t care. He stared out the window, his mind empty. It seemed as if Ben talked mainly to calm himself down anyway. Only when Ben asked, “Have you any idea what you're doing to Finn?” Daniel reacted.

_ So, he did talk to me. What was the question again? Oh...  _

“What do you mean?”

“You didn’t hear one word I said, did you? Anyway, you shouldn't go to Finn. He’s already in enough trouble.”

Anger flared up like an underwater magnesium flashlight. “You know nothing.” Sean’s lighter was floating in front of him, slowly turning in the air, snapping open and back. Daniel hadn’t been aware that he’d taken it out of the backpack and played with it through Bens monologue.

“Dude, stop that. Are you crazy? I told you I’d kick you out if you do shit like this!”

Daniel shot a hateful gaze to Ben. He saw Ben's glance in the back mirror snap back onto the street and heard a whispered, “Psycho”. He didn’t care. Ben could think what he wanted as long as he drove him to Finn.

In the late morning they arrived at an apartment block, somewhere at the outskirts of San Diego. Ben led Daniel to a flat on the third floor and opened the door. The room behind was surprisingly clean compared to Finns' tent. It smelled of smoke and a whiff of beer was in there too.

“Finn, we’re back!” Ben hadn't finished talking when a door to the left opened. Finn stood there in shorts, the usual T-shirt with the weird eight-pointed star– although this shirt seemed new – and the familiar tattoos. The two things Daniel noticed being different, were the red, puffy eyes and the missing dreadlocks. Daniel let his backpack drop, ran to Finn and jumped into the embrace.

“Hey ‘lil bro. Glad you’re here.” Once more, Daniel was at a loss for words. Instead he just tightened the hug, his head buried in Finn’s torso.

“Finn, can I talk to you for a moment? In private.” Ben had stepped into the apartment and closed the door behind him.

“Not right now dude. I want to make breakfast for our little wolf here.”

“Please Finn, it’s important.” Ben's tone was pleading. Daniel couldn’t believe it. They just arrived and Ben already wanted to separate Finn and him. 

Finn looked at Ben with squinted eyes, then shook his head.“Breakfast first, Ben. You want something too?”

_ Please say no. _

Ben quickly looked to Daniel, who was still clutching to Finn.

“I’ll be waiting in my room.” Defeated, he walked towards a door and disappeared.

Finn shrugged. “What do you want for breakfast? Cereals, pancakes, scrambled eggs? “

“You can cook?” Daniel asked mockingly. A wide grin had appeared on his face while he let go of Finn. As an answer he received a playful hit in the upper arm.

“Of course, I can cook. You think I survived on fast food the whole time I was drifting?” He stepped into the small kitchen. “Welcome to Finn-est Diner. On this fine morning, I’m your host. Name’s Finn. What would you like to eat, M’lord.” 

Daniel giggled. “I would like to have some scrambled egg with bacon and hash browns on the side.” Daniel tried to imitate an Englishman he once saw on the TV when Esteban was watching the news. 

Finn burst into laughter. “A Finn choice, if I may say so.”

While Finn was preparing the meal, Daniel was completely in the moment. Forgetting all the hardship and pain of the past days; he and Finn were just being silly for the first time in what felt like months.

“How ’bout you hand me some eggs, milk and bacon from the fridge. And you are not allowed to take one step.” Daniel smiled happily. It was so good to be around somebody who knew about his power and simultaneously was not afraid of him.

Finn's cooking skills were – surprisingly – not terrible. “That’s awesome. Who taught you cooking?”

“Actually, that was Ben. At least he polished my skills significantly. He’s a cook in a diner a bit outside the city. I got a job there.” Daniel had the feeling this sentence was not really finished, but because of his good mood, he let it slide. “He was looking for a new roommate and I was looking for a place to stay. It was a very nice deal. It was nearly too good to be true to be honest. I still don’t fully understand him. But not once have I regretted moving in. Speaking of Ben, we should clean up and then I should talk to him.”

“Already? It’s not been that long.”

Finn looked at the clock of the microwave. “It has been nearly two hours Dan.”

_ Ugh, not Dan please. _

“I’ll be right back,” Finn said after they finished in the kitchen. He knocked at Ben’s door and vanished into the room. Daniel was now standing alone in the living room. He slouched onto the couch and looked around. All in all, it was pretty standard. There was a second couch forming an L shape with the one Daniel was sitting on. From both you had a nice view on the TV – screen. The two bookshelves were filled to the brim with DVDs, games and books.

Looking around Daniel noticed he could hear Finn and Ben argue through the wall, their voices getting louder by the second.

“Forget it, I don’t care!”

“Look at this! He…” The volume of Ben’s voice suddenly dropped and Daniel didn’t hear anymore. He could imagine what was going on though. Ben was showing Finn the newspaper. 

Only moments later Finn emerged from the other room. “He stays, discussion‘s over.” Deep lines of worry had appeared on his face though. Daniel uneasily squirmed on the sofa. “Don’t worry my man, you’ll be fine. We’ll be fine.” He sat down on the couch as well. “Ben will calm down, give him a little time. In the end nobody can escape the Diaz charm. Now, I think you have a story to tell.”

“Ben showed you the news, so you already know.” Daniel pouted.

“I already knew anyway. Of course I did. After you called, I looked for news about you and Sean. I’ll always be here for you Daniel. Especially now.”

With that, Daniel started to sob and threw himself into Finn's arms. In between the sobs he told his story.

“After we fucked up at Merrill's, Jake took me to Haven Point. That’s where he had been living before running away. They thought I’m a miracle sent by god or something.”

That made Finn chuckle slightly. “You’re a miracle alright, but sent by god? I don’t know. You can be a brat.”

Daniel had to laugh as well. "Shut up.” 

He continued. When he came to the part where Nicholas started to beat up Sean and in the end held his gun into Sean’s face, Finn began to shiver and when Daniel looked up he could see how Finn was trying to hold back his tears. He cuddled closer to Finn, the hug now being as much for Finn’s benefit as for his own. 

Quickly, Daniel proceeded. Only when he talked about how he killed Lisbeth to get out of the church he stopped and observed Finn for his reaction. His friend shifted uncomfortably in the embrace. Daniel let go and leaned back. Finn's gaze was focused on him right now, but there was no judgment, no fear or revulsion. There was only sadness and perhaps a tiny bit of guilt.

“Did I bring you to this? When I told you you should take care of Merrill?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. But she wanted to kill Sean so I would stay with her. She wanted us to burn rather than let me go. She deserved it.”

_ Sean stood at the cliff edge, silently shaking his head. His face a mask not betraying his feelings but Daniel knew. _

“She wanted you to burn? What are you talking about?”

“Yeah, sometime in the fight some candles I was training with got knocked over and the church caught fire. Everyone was just concentrating on Sean. Finn you have no idea, it was horrible. I swore I’d protect Sean no matter what.”

_ But I failed miserably.  _ Quickly, he continued.

“After this we stayed with our mom – Karen – at a place called Away. Sean didn’t really get along with her. But it was a place where we could stay for a while. Somehow the police found us though. Karen gave us her car and we drove to the border in the middle of nowhere. After I blew a hole in it, someone shot me.”

“Holy shit, man. Why didn’t you tell me on the phone?” Finn leaned towards him and looked for signs of the injuries Daniel assumed.

“I didn’t think it was important.”

“How can you say that?”

“Because… because everything got worse from there.” This time the change in Finn’s demeanour was subtle. His eyes narrowed a little, lips thinned ever so slightly. He knew what was coming now, but before Daniel could continue Finn spoke again.

“And you still don’t think it’s important? Are you ok?”

“Yeah, yeah. They patched me up at the police station where they brought us after. At least the first shot got taken care of.”

“The first shot?” Finn clearly became agitated. “Holy fuck Daniel. How many times have you been shot at?”

“Um… three times – after the heist. But I got only hit twice.” Finn shook his head in disbelief. “You told me about the police shooting at you at the border…” And they were back on track. The fire of fear and concern for Daniel’s wellbeing was extinguished within a second as Finn realized which part of the story he just started. Daniel let his head drop and stared at the hands in his lap. “I freed Sean from the interrogation room and we ran. I have no idea what Sean was thinking, but he drove directly to the nearest border crossing. They were there Finn. They surrounded us and Sean wanted to give up.” Anger and sorrow brought tears to Daniel’s eyes. “How could he be so stupid? He nearly died trying to get me out of the hands of Lisbeth and now he just wanted to throw everything away? I forced the car forward and they started to shoot. We crossed the border and I thought we’d made it. I believed ‘til I saw Sean clutching his throat.” 

He looked at Finn, noticed the shallow breathing, the paleness of his face, the clenched jaw and the hands curled to fists. His anger subsided from one moment to the other. “Finn?” No reaction. “Finn, are you OK?” Still nothing. Daniel moved closer and hugged Finn’s chest. He could hear the quick beat of Finn’s heart, could feel the short breaths and the sweat soaking his T-shirt. But there was no response to Daniel’s touch. He felt helpless and didn’t know what to do. There was only one solution, one Daniel didn’t like.

“Ben?” He knocked at the door. No answer. “Ben please. Finn’s acting weird. He’s just sitting there and doesn’t move or say anything.” 

The door opened only seconds later. “What did you do?”

“Nothing, we were just talking!”

Ben shot a quick. “Shit, he had the same reaction after your phone call. What the actual fuck are you talking about?!” He hurried to the kitchen and came back with a paper bag. Holding it over Finn’s nose and mouth he looked quickly at Daniel, who stood in the middle of the room, feeling useless and empty. “Seriously, what were you talking about?”

“Everything”, Daniel mumbled. 

Ben rolled his eyes. “C’mon Bro, you’re fine,” and towards Daniel, “What’s so bad that he’s having a panic attack? He’s watched the news, he knew about the border even before we came here.” That’s when Daniel’s legs gave way and he dropped to the floor.

_ I did this to Finn. Do I hurt everybody I meet?  _ These two thoughts floated endlessly in his mind, keeping him in his own mental prison while he relived all the bad things he’d done to his loved ones.

_ Finn’s panic attack, Sean's death, Karen's fear of him, losing control at the farm and how he frightened and used his power on Sean in Haven Point and Humboldt, Chris nearly getting hit by a police car, the cross with the name Mushroom on it, the trashed motel room with Sean in the middle of a tornado of debris. _

Daniel had no idea how much time had passed. Only when Finn picked him up he became aware of his surroundings again.

“I’m fine lil bro, don’t worry.” Still not totally out of his stupor, Finn half carried, half led Daniel back to the couch and sat down, his arm protectively wrapped around Daniel’s shoulder.

Finn took a large gulp of water from a glass that stood on the side table. Ben, who must have brought the glass, sat on the other couch, eyeing the two suspiciously as if they would have another mental break every moment now. Daniel noticed books had fallen out of the shelves and parts of some board games were spread all over the room. He hadn't realized his power had activated. “Sorry, I didn’t wanna make a mess.” Perhaps there was more to Ben's look than just concern for their wellbeing.

“Nothing to worry about, we’ll clean it up later.” Finn tried to be his happy self, he just didn’t quite manage. 

“We were talking about what happened after we got separated. I told you that Daniel is the little brother of a good friend. But that’s not the whole story. Before I fucked up in Humboldt county we – Daniel’s brother and I – were… becoming closer. He was maybe the best person I ever met. He even took the full blame for the heist, which is why I can be here now, free.” Ben was starting to look a bit confused. Daniel could feel the large breath Finn was taking before talking again. “Sean was killed. They didn’t mention that in the article, but Daniel told me on the phone. I’m barely keeping it together since.”

“I buried Sean in Mexico,” Daniel tuned in, barely audible. With that, the tears flowed once again. The difference now was that he could share his pain with someone who really understood and - somehow - thinking about the past days hurt less than before. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my amazing beta readers [souvenirsfromapastlife](https://archiveofourown.org/users/souvenirsfromapastlife), [Bracco](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bracco), [darkjaden825698](https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkjaden825698/pseuds/darkjaden825698) and Aneroid. 
> 
> If you like the story so far please leave kudos or a comment.   
> Thank you all for reading.


	6. Trapped

Finn, Daniel and Ben sat in the living room, the silence only broken by the occasional sniffing and wailing of Daniel. He and Finn comforted each other, while Ben sat there uneasily. After a while he got up and walked to the kitchen. Shortly after he came back with a hot chocolate, which he placed on the side table. The smell made Daniel look up and the tears slowly ebbed away.

“Thank you”, he mumbled, bringing the drink to his lips. It was delicious.

“Finn, what’s the plan?”

Finn shook his head. “I don’t know dude. I might go and drift around again with Daniel.”

_I don’t want to travel again. I want to stay here._

With a heavy sigh, Ben leaned back into the couch. “I’ve heard you say many dumb things over the course of the last weeks, but this has to be the most stupid one. You wanna bail on your parole?” 

Finn had seemingly recovered quite well from his panic attack. He chuckled over Ben’s remark. “Maybe you’re right man. But I really don’t know. I can’t send Dan away.”

“Please don’t call me Dan. I hate it.”

Finn ruffled his hair. “My bad, buddy. Look, let’s just chill for today. Tomorrow after work we’ll figure out what to do.”

Ben shook his head, still clearly not agreeing with Finn, but he seemed to know that it was not the time for an argument. “And what will Daniel do, while we work?”

“I thought I’d take him with us. If he wants, he can help me a bit with serving.”

“Clearly you are insane.”

“Why, he can do that while he’s sitting around and I can bring my orders out all at once.”

Daniel stopped sipping from his mug for a moment: “Oh yeah, that sounds awesome.”

“Haha, yeah Dan my man. Oops sorry.” Grinning, Finn and Daniel high-fived. “See, he‘s up for it!”

“For the whole eight hours?”, Ben furrowed his brow.

“Uhm, I don’t know. Eight hours is kinda long”, Daniel admitted. 

Ben gestured towards Daniel with both hands and dropped back into the couch.

“Maybe he can borrow your Playbox Switch. That will keep him busy for the rest of the time.”

Ben thought about it for a moment. “Yeah, ok, but this is not a solution for the long run, or even the short run, you know that.”

Finn nodded. Given Daniel’s earlier experiences with Ben, he had the feeling Ben agreed suspiciously fast, but he was giving Ben the benefit of the doubt. The hot chocolate was working its magic and perhaps it was like Finn mentioned earlier and Ben was warming up.

“Nuf of that. Who wants to hunt some ugly demons?”

“Me, me, me!” Daniel was close to bouncing on the sofa. 

“Nah, that’s my cue to head out. I’ll be back soon.“ 

Finn collected two PlayBox controllers from the floor and handed one to Daniel. “Ok, we are two knights searching for the holy grail that was stolen from us. We are travelling to the holy land and have to fight through hordes of baddies to get it back.”

“Oh, a bit like Indiana Jones?”

“You got it.” Finn showed Daniel how the controls worked and once he‘d figured that out, Finn started the game. They sliced and hacked through uncounted numbers of enemies. After defeating a particularly difficult boss Finn was ecstatic. “Yeah dude, I never managed to beat that guy just with the crappy NPC helping. Now the grail is just around the next corner.” His look fell on a pile of books lying on the floor. ”But, we should probably first clean up the mess.” 

“Just a little bit longer. That was so cool!” Finn shot another glance at the different things lying around and then shrugged. 

“Ok, Sir Daniel, the holy Grail and immortality awaits.” 

When Ben returned they weren’t much further into the mission. Sir Daniel and his squire were fighting on some battlements in Acre, where they needed to defeat a fallen Templar. 

“How about you take up your quest of cleaning up this room?” Ben carried two large bags with groceries and nearly stumbled over some books he couldn’t see. Both Daniel and Finn grinned at each other. “Daniel will get right on it.”

“Hey!” Finn winked at him and Daniel understood. But all the things lying around were a reminder of the unpredictability of his powers and the hurt he caused other people. 

_I don't want to use them anymore, but I also don't want to disappoint Finn. One more time’s Ok, I think._

As soon as Ben left for the kitchen books, video games and other stuff was flying through the room. Finn pointed and Daniel put the item in its designated place. Daniel noticed, the power was more alive, harder to control than before. It was comparable to when he took up training and had to concentrate really hard, although it was still a lot easier than back then. 

The room was tidied in no time and they took up the game where they left off. When dinner was ready they still hadn’t beaten it. “Shoot, I really thought we’d get through”, Finn remarked.

“You just die too often. Slowpoke.”

“Dude, not okay! So not fair that you got the hang of it that quick. Are you helping with your powers?” 

“No!” Finn raised an eyebrow and Daniel had to laugh. “No, really not. I…”, the smile disappeared from his face, “I don’t want to use them anymore. It only leads to bad stuff.”

“What about your superhero career?”

Daniel sighed. “I don’t know. I had this dream, where Sean told me that I could become either a superhero or the opposite. I don’t want to become a supervillain.” 

Finn’s look was intense. “Listen to me. You will not become a supervillain. I won’t let you. But that doesn’t mean you cannot use your powers at all. Let’s talk about this after eating, Ok?” 

Finn had a very different approach when talking about Daniel’s powers than Sean. The first of Daniel’s questions was directly pointed at the heart of the issue. Finn’s answer was not at all what Daniel expected. 

“How do I know when to use my powers?”

“As a superhero? Let’s ask an expert.” Finn jumped up, walked into his room and emerged again only seconds later with an issue of Power Bear in his hands. 

“You have Power Bear comics?”

“It was one of the first things I bought with my paycheck. He’s the coolest. And I think he can help us.” Together they read the comic.”You see that? The baddies turn around and run just because he growls at them.”

“Yeah, they’re wimps!”

“Have you ever seen a bear roar? It is terrifying. And this is a superhero bear.”

“Hm, ok. Still I wouldn’t have run.”

“Damn, you’d fight against Power Bear?”

“What? No! I’m on his side.” Finn laughed,”Of course you are. Ok - what would you say is the first thing Power Bear tells you in super hero training?.” They talked and discussed for a long time. A little before midnight Finn decided it was time to go to bed. 

Although this had been the best day perhaps since Beaver Creek, sleep didn’t come easily that night and, even though the couch was comfortable, there was just something missing. Daniel stood up, went to Finn's room, opened the door and quietly slipped in. He was sure Finn wasn’t asleep yet, he just went into the room minutes ago.

“Can I stay here with you tonight? Sean and I always shared the bed on our run. I got used to it.”

“Hm? What? Oh… Yeah ok, climb in.” Happily Daniel lay down in the bed.

“Finn? I don’t want to move around again. I want to stay here.”

“It might be dangerous staying in one place. Especially now. They are looking for you because of a terrorist attack.”

“Yeah, Yeah I know.”

“This is no joke Daniel.”

“You sound like Sean!” Stunned silence fell over the room. Daniel turned around and looked at Finn. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to... Please I just want a place to stay. I’m tired of moving around.” Finn didn’t answer for quite a long time. 

_Perhaps it would’ve been better if I stayed on the couch._

He moved away from Finn towards the edge of the bed, ready to stand up when he felt Finn's hand on his arm. “Stay lil bro. It’s just… I really don’t know what to do next. But we’ll figure something out. Together. And for what it’s worth, I consider being compared to Sean a compliment anytime.” Daniel closed his eyes. He’d thought Finn had all the answers, but this was a different Finn than the one he knew from Humboldt. Sober, first of all. But also more sincere. He was just drifting into sleep when he heard Finn:

“Sleep well, lil wolf. Tomorrow things will look differently.” 

* * *

“Good morning sleepyhead. Time to get up, we need to leave for work.”

“Hm? What?”

“C’mon dude, I wanna have a look at your arm before we go.” Daniel felt as if he just lay down. “Go away.”

“Nah, you need to get up now.” With a quick tug, Finn removed the blanket and Daniel shot up. Before he could think his powers activated and reached towards his friend. At the last moment Daniel was able to stop. Finn grinned, unaware that he had been really close to getting attacked. Ashamed Daniel got up and followed him into the bathroom where Finn treated his wounds and put plastic wrap around. “Here you go. Now hit the shower and then we go.”

“Morning y’all,” Finn announced his presence loud and clear in the kitchen of the diner he and Ben worked at. “Ok, Daniel you can sit somewhere in the front. I'll be right with you.” There were only few people sitting in the dark blue booths. Daniel was not particularly interested in observing them, so he unpacked the Playbox Switch and started a game of Mario Buggy.

Some minutes later he heard Finn whisper “Daniel! little help?” Daniel was sure everybody else must have heard it too, but nobody seemed to pay any notice. Finn took a second plate and balanced it on his wrist. Already now Daniel needed to stabilize and Finn wasn’t even moving. Once he started walking things were a bit more difficult, but it was no challenge whatsoever. Daniel's mind wandered back to the previous afternoon when Finn helped him make his own rules for using his powers, derived from the Power Bear comic. 

_Don’t show off. Only use your powers when everything else fails. Nobody deserves death._

The last one was a slap in the face to wake Daniel up. Power Bear always incapacitated his opponents and handed them over to the police and Daniel connected the dots. Once he came to his conclusion, that in Power Bear’s eyes nobody deserved to die, Finn wholeheartedly agreed. Daniel had the distinct feeling that Finn wanted to have this rule on the list. Daniel wasn’t so sure about this last, new rule, but he agreed that a superhero would try to abide by it. 

The sound of a crashing plate followed by a “Shit!” and an angry “Finn!” broke Daniel’s flow of thoughts. Finn apparently had tried to serve four plates at the same time with Daniel unconsciously only concentrating on three. And then there was this strange resistance again, as if the power had a will and life of its own. Daniel hadn’t really noticed until now, but balancing three plates wasn’t as easy as it should have been. “Sorry, Boss. Won’t happen again.” Daniel mouthed a “Sorry” when Finn looked his way. Finn shook his head and after he cleaned up came to Daniels table. “Don’t worry, bro. This happens to me every day at least twice and with only three plates. Honestly, I don’t know why I’m not fired yet.” He disappeared into the back where, as soon as he vanished, an angry voice began to talk. Because Daniel felt a bit guilty about Finn getting in trouble because of him, he listened in. 

“On a normal day you can’t even bring three dishes out at the same time, and now you’re trying four?! Try this one more time and nobody will prevent me from firing you, understand?” 

“Yes, Sir.”

“Good, now what’s with the kid?”

“What do you mean?” Finn’s voice sounded a bit strained.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about. Don’t play dumb with me. He came in with you and sits there for a good two hours, buying nothing. He’s occupying a space for paying customers.”

“Uhm, yeah he is the brother of a… of my boyfriend. He ran away from home and needed a place to stay. 'till we find a solution.”

“Why isn’t his brother looking after him then?” 

“He went to calm the waters. He’ll be back in a few.” Daniel felt a stab in his heart, hearing this bold lie. “Please,” Finn went on, “let him stay only for today. How else should I watch him? I’ll take some days off from tomorrow on, until Sean’s back.” Daniel decided he’d heard enough. He wasn’t sure how he felt about Finn lying so blatantly about Sean’s return. It felt wrong using Sean like that. And how could Finn be so calm, when he was lying, especially when he clearly was devastated by Sean’s passing. 

_I will have to ask him that later._

A bit later Finn stood at Daniel’s table once again. “You want anything else? You have to order something otherwise he’ll kick you out. Asshole.”

“I’m not hungry. Are you in trouble because of me?”

“Nah, I don’t think so. Some soda then?” Daniel nodded. 

Finn returned to his work and Daniel played and supported Finn for the next few hours. It got boring really quick. His eyes wandered to the window taking in the movement of cars and people outside. More accurately,the absence thereof. No cars drove by and Daniel couldn’t see any pedestrians either. Now that he thought about it, it was also quite some time since the last customers came in. It was the middle of the morning, so he hadn’t thought anything was amiss, but this was strange.

“Finn? Do you have a second? You see any people outside? Or cars? This seems pretty weird.” Finn’s looked at the scenery and if Daniel was correct, a bit of colour drained out of his face. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know, bud. I’ll be right back.” He hurried to the kitchen. Daniel could hear Finn’s angry voice but not who or what was answered. Suddenly he was afraid. Something was going and it wasn’t good. Finn came back with a furrowed brow and red cheeks. He sat down opposite Daniel, lying down his head on his crossed arms. Muffled Daniel heard: “Sorry Daniel. Ben… I… don’t know what to tell you. The police’re here.” Daniel's world came to a standstill as roaring filled his ears. 

He saw Sean grasping at his throat, felt the bullet pierce his deflecting shield. He felt the shot, that made him lose control, hit his arm once again. They had tried to kill him before, he would not give them another chance. Daniel stood up, ready to face the police head on.

“Daniel, wait.” Barely audible, Finn’s voice pierced through his thoughts. “Don’t use your powers. You’re not invincible and I don’t wanna lose you too. There’s nothing to gain if you keep running and fighting. But you could lose everything. I didn’t want this to happen. Please, just stay calm, don’t do anything. Remember our rules. Just sit here and I’ll go.”

“The rules? They killed Sean and Dad. Now they are here for me and I shouldn’t fight? That’s bullshit! I trusted you! After all that talking you want to sell me out? Did _you_ tell Ben to call them?” Finn’s expression clearly showed how hurt he was by these words. Of course he had nothing to do with the police showing up, Daniel was sure of that, but fact was that Finn wanted him to surrender, to give up. And this not even a day after they’d reunited. 

“No! How can you even think that? Please, Daniel. Bullets can still get you, Sean’s death proves that. After the border they will be prepared better, why do you think there’s nobody outside? They’re gonna kill you!”

“So what? Sean and Dad are dead and there’s nothing that can change that, why should I stay alive?” Somewhere plates began to clatter and the faint “clink clink” of cutlery hitting each other filled the air.

“There are people who care about you. And you care for them as well. Me, your friend Chris, your grandparents. Your mom. You think any of us would want to lose more than we already have, that we want to lose _you_? 

You saved me in Humboldt, I owe you my life. Now please, please let me save you.” In a much quieter voice he added: ”You want to die after what Sean sacrificed for you?” It hit like nothing else. There was so much more implied in these words. You’re betraying Sean’s memory. You’re throwing away the life Sean paid for with his. You’re clearly going against what Sean wanted, once again. The clattering and clinking stopped.

Defeated Daniel asked: “Where will you be when they take me?”

“Right by your side little wolf, I promise.” Daniel sat down again and laid down his head on his arms as Finn had done before.

When the heavily armoured agents came, Finn was not with them. With hanging head and shoulders Daniel walked to the waiting car in the front of the dinner. From the corner of his eye he saw Finn heatedly arguing with a police officer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a quite a piece of work. Only because of my amazing beta readers [souvenirsfromapastlife](https://archiveofourown.org/users/souvenirsfromapastlife), [Bracco](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bracco), and Aneroid it has become what it is now, an important part of the story.  
> Because of some heavy rewriting and extending the chapter it took longer to upload than I anticipated and it's only because of Bracco's advice that I split the chapter in half, so that you can read at least part of what I planned for chapter 6. 
> 
> If you like the story, leave kudos or a comment :)


	7. Guilt

The drive to the police station was relatively fast. Walking in, he was escorted by four policemen with body armour and rifles. Everybody turned and stopped what they were doing, just looking at the boy with the guard of a dangerous criminal. Daniel didn’t notice a lot of it.

_What’s gonna happen now? Where is Finn, why isn’t he here? Sean, I need you._

A soft howl floated through his mind, he picked it up and let the sound escape. Immediately one of the guards behind him told him to stop. In Daniel’s mind a large black wolf materialized and snarled at the officer. He saw a younger version of himself pet the barely reachable neck of the animal. The thoughts and feelings that haunted Daniel since the border, which had again flared up since his arrest, calmed down.

He was brought into a room with a round table and chairs. A coffee machine stood on a cupboard besides a couple of water bottles. The escort stayed outside and so he was alone in this nearly empty room. He sat on a chair and waited, there was nothing to do here. He let his mind drift and found himself thinking about how everybody was leaving him behind. 

Having lost his sense of time, he didn’t know how long it took until the woman arrived. She told him she was from Child Protective Services and that she was in charge of what happened to him outside the precinct. She talked more, but Daniel didn’t follow or care, really. After some time a young man joined who announced that he was Daniel’s assigned counsel.

“The police are going to ask you questions about what happened during the last nine months. You don’t have to answer them. However, if you do, they can use what you say against you.”

“What does that mean?” It was the first time Daniel spoke since the diner. The lawyer didn’t answer right away, seemingly thinking about how to explain. 

“Hm, so for example, if you tell them you did something wrong, like… you took something that wasn’t yours, they could then use that testimony to punish you.”

“Why would I talk to them then?”

“The punishment could be more severe if you don’t tell them the truth. Of course, they need to prove that you did something wrong. I haven’t had time to look at your case yet, so I don’t know what evidence they have. Did you understand everything I told you?”

Daniel shrugged. He thought he understood well enough but wasn’t quite sure. “I need a clear answer, Mr. Diaz. I’m sorry.” 

“Yes, yes. I understand.” 

“Ok then, let’s start.”

The interview took place in a room with bare walls and just one window, very similar to the one where he rescued Sean from, about half a week ago. The lady from CPS was in the room, as well as his lawyer and two officers. They started by asking questions about his person and family and quickly shifted to the death of Officer Matthews. Since Daniel didn’t say a word, they laid out what they knew. There were huge gaps in their timeline but Daniel had no intention of clearing things up and laid his head on his arms. His interrogators clearly were annoyed by that and tried to get his attention somehow, ultimately without any success. So they just talked at him and asked questions for hours.

The night he spent in a room the CPS provided. He was not allowed to leave, but the room itself was nice, so he didn’t care too much. After he ate the sandwich that had waited for him, he laid down on his back and stared at the blank ceiling until sleep came.

The next day a different lawyer was waiting at the police station. He wore a perfectly fitted suit, an expensive looking suitcase and when he shook Daniels hand his grasp was firm and reassuring. “Mr. Diaz. My name is Andrew Anderson. I’m here on Mr. Finn McNamara’s request to represent and give you counsel during your interviews and – should it come to that – your trial.”

“Where’s the guy from yesterday?”

“Mr. Sanders has another appointment at the moment. But you don’t have to care about that. If you agree to my counsel, he is relieved of his duty to be your attorney.”

 _What the… How did Finn find this guy?_ “Sure.”

They walked to the interrogation room and sat down at the table. “I heard you didn’t say anything yesterday, that’s good. We will see how it goes today. From what I saw, they don’t have any solid evidence tying you to any crimes. I advise you to keep quiet for the time being.”

The questions began anew. This time around they asked about the events in Arizona: The destroyed portion of the wall, the destruction of El Rey Police station with multiple dead and the massacre at the border. His new lawyer took a significantly more active role than the other one and shut down several questions from the beginning. Then they shifted to accusing Sean. They asked if he joined his brother voluntarily, if he wanted to work on a pot farm. Was he aware of Sean’s statement that said his brother had planned and orchestrated the heist at the farm? How had Sean burned down the church? Why was there a female body with a broken neck in the ruins? And so on. It was difficult though to keep his calm. In the end they made the direct statement that he just should talk about everything because Daniel was – after all – just one of Sean’s victims on his crime spree. After that Daniel’s attorney declared the interviews finished for the day. It was a lucky break, Daniel could feel one of the officers’ pens begin to vibrate. 

Back at his room Daniel sat on the bed, leaned against the wall and pulled his knee to the chest. He was still sitting like that when there was a gentle knock at the door and Finn stuck his head in. “Hey Superwolf. How are you?” Daniel didn’t answer. Finn stepped in carrying Daniel’s backpack and sat down next to Daniel. “I brought you your stuff” then he lowered his voice, “I took the sketchbook and hid it. It’d be bad news if they found it.” Daniel didn’t say anything, just leaned slightly towards Finn. “I hear you’re doing quite fine in the interviews. Keep it up.“ After that Finn became quiet, picking up on Daniel’s mood and need for silence. The close contact to his friend helped to forget some of the awful things the police said about Sean. After an hour Finn had to leave again.

The next interrogation started where the last one ended. “Ok we’re going to lay out what we think happened. Feel free to add or correct us anytime. Your brother killed Officer Matthews in Seattle and took you with him on his run. We assume he was in contact with a Mexican drug cartel already at this time.” It was the first time Daniel heard this new, totally absurd theory and even though he didn’t really feel like it he guffawed, to everybody else’ surprise. “You want to add something?” 

Daniel didn’t even acknowledge the question and they continued to pour the filth, they called their timeline, over Sean. The large black wolf had been with Daniel for the entirety of his time in police custody. Usually it was curled up and sleeping, but when the interrogations started it woke. The longer the detectives were talking, the harder it became to control the wolf, which was snapping and biting at spectres Daniel was not able to identify. He wasn’t sure how long he would be able to keep the animal in check. 

Young Daniel clambered on the wolf’s back and laid his arms around the massive neck, whispering calming words into the erect ears.” ... where a strong police force under the command of SA Flores was waiting for him. With the help of his Mexican allies he forced the car through the blockade and killed every single police officer. Miraculously he was killed in the attempt to cross the border.”

“How do you know Sean is actually dead”, tuned the lawyer in.

“Because we asked the Mexicans.”

“Ah, well then, you surely have the body and prove that he had help.”

The two policemen exchanged a glance and looked like they had just drunk a glass of salt water.

“No. Although Sean Eduardo Diaz’ death was confirmed, the Mexican authorities are not very cooperative beyond that. They said it was very obvious how he died and that further investigations were not necessary from their point of view.”

A faint grin appeared on Daniel’s face that only widened when he heard his attorney's next words.

“Ah yes. Well the relationship between Mexico and the US has seen better times. But it seems to me gentlemen, that you do not directly accuse my client of any crimes nor do you have any evidence that would incriminate him.”

The officer’s faces went red and even redder when they saw Daniel’s grin. “No, but we have more questions.”

“My client is clearly not in a state, where he is able to talk about what happened. Since you’ve interrogated him for the last three days straight, I think this is enough, especially given his young age. Once you find some solid evidence, you are free to contact me and I’m sure we can arrange a more productive meeting then.” He stood up. “Mr. Diaz, your time in this room is over, for the moment at least. Please wait outside while I finish the talking here.”

Some minutes later Anderson came out and led Daniel to the conference room, where he was brought on the first day at the precinct. His lawyer put the suitcase on the table and started talking. “I worked with CPS, the local police and courts to transfer custody of yours to your grandparents. The documents should be signed in the next few days and you will be transferred to Beaver Creek after that. One condition is that you wear an ankle bracelet since you are officially not cleared of charges yet and the crimes you or your brother are accused of spread over multiple states and everyone wants to have the opportunity to prosecute you or better yet, your brother. Of course, that is not possible anymore.”

Daniel looked at the lawyer a bit confused. “What does this all mean?”

Anderson smiled. “It means you are going to live with your grandparents. You will be under electronic surveillance until the case against you is closed and that I will do everything I can that this happens as fast as possible.”

Daniel extended his hand for a proper, adult handshake. “Thank you, Mr. Anderson.”

Four days later the same lady from CPS who first met him at the police station (Daniel never cared to know her name) told him that he would be travelling north the next day. In the evening he was called to the lobby. Escorted by a detective in civilian clothes he walked down the stairs and was informed that he should pick up the phone; Finn was calling.

“Hey, lil man. I heard you’re moving soon. Are you excited?”

“Mhm.”

“Still not in a talking mood?”

“Not really.”

“Ok, then I’ll make this quick. I’ll come to Beaver Creek and visit you as soon as I can, promise.”

“You promised me once before you’d be there.”

“What? Oh, you mean at the diner? They didn’t let me back Daniel. I yelled at them but I couldn’t come to you.”

“You promised.”

Finn sounded defeated, “Yeah I did. Sorry ‘bout that. It won’t happen again, you hear me?”

Daniel didn’t answer.

“Ok… Listen, there’s gonnabe a package waiting for you at your grandparent’s place. Little something to remember me by.”

“Ok. Thank you.”

“I’ll see you as soon as possible Daniel. Things will get better, trust me. When I see you next time, I’m sure the world won’t be as dark as it seems now. Safe travels, Superwolf.”

The drive to Beaver Creek took two full days in which Daniel didn’t say a word. One of the agents escorting him tried to start a conversation but soon stopped. Daniel needed the quiet to try making sense of all the things that happened in the time since the blockade. 

During his time in custody Daniel thought a lot about what happened to Sean and him. Everything that happened was his fault. He killed all the officers at the border, he wrecked the police station, he was responsible for the church fire and Lisbeth’s death. Because of him Sean lost his eye and was caught by the FBI. Because of him they got separated. And because of him they had to run in the first place. Despite all of this, people kept blaming Sean, even though Daniel killed him too. 

The blatant injustice of it all made him want to scream. Scream the truth at them to set their records straight. To shut them up and let them know what an awesome brother Sean had been. He knew it was a stupid notion, but it felt so wrong not doing it. 

Now in the car other emotions surfaced. 

First of all he felt betrayed. 

Betrayed by Sean for leaving him alone, for suddenly changing his mind about going to Puerto Lobos. Why did he do that? He knew that Daniel was capable of destroying everything at the border. He was always adamant about going to Mexico, only to change his mind at the last possible point in time? Why did he want to give himself up, knowing that he would go to prison, probably for a long time? Did Finn know something more? That one thing he said - _You want to die after what Sean sacrificed for you? -_ still rang in Daniel’s mind and had cost him hours of his sleep. 

_I need to speak to Finn again. Everything is so confusing and just doesn’t make sense. I wish we’d had more time._

But then Daniel felt betrayed by Finn as well. For not keeping his promise at the diner and for sending him to Beaver Creek, alone. It only showed promises were worth nothing. Sean broke them, Finn too and even Daniel himself hadn’t been able to fulfill his promise and protect his brother. Everybody was lying because of different reasons. Because they didn’t know better, or to protect feelings. Their own feelings but also the one of others they thought they could keep safe. It didn’t matter, someone got hurt every time. 

_Is it worth trusting people and getting disappointed again and again?_

Lastly Daniel was thinking about himself. About the decisions he made. About the inability to listen to Sean, not only at the border but also in Haven Point or when he refused to tell Chris about his powers, against Sean’s advice. Thinking about his behaviour and stubbornness and Sean’s decision at the border, he slowly assembled the pieces of the answer to his question. 

_Sean often said, my safety was all that mattered. That’s why we set up the rules. That’s why he got beaten up._

What if Sean came to the conclusion that it was best for Daniel to remain in the US? Daniel's never been really happy about the prospect of going to Mexico. They’d talked on their way to the border about that. Did Sean listen to him and change his mind because of it? 

_He really wanted the best for me, even heard my doubts and wishes. Why didn’t he explain? Why did he always have to decide for me?_

_Why didn’t_ **_I_ ** _listen? I listened to Finn, when he told me to give up._

And there was the guilt again. He felt guilty about listening to Finn, but not to his own brother. Another thing he betrayed Sean with. How could he live up to Sean’s sacrifice? How could he repay him? 

When they arrived at the Reynolds’ residence, he hadn’t found an answer to his questions. He got out of the car in the same silence he kept for the whole drive and took in his surroundings. It was quiet here, not as quiet as in the winter, but maybe he would be able to come to rest and think a bit more. In silence he walked to the door, flanked by the two agents that escorted him. In silence he pressed the doorbell. 

Only when he saw who opened the door, an elated “Chris?” escaped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now this is the second part of the chapter I wanted to upload about a week ago. In the end there was a lot more to tell and splitting the chapter was the correct way to go (I think)  
> A big thanks goes to my beta readers [souvenirsfromapastlife](https://archiveofourown.org/users/souvenirsfromapastlife), [Bracco](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bracco) who did a wonderful job over the last week and helped me immensly, even on very short notice. 
> 
> If you like the story please leave a comment or kudos.


	8. Reunion

Although Claire stood right behind Chris, seeing him opening the door was certainly a surprise. Without thinking about it further, Daniel lunged forward and hugged the blonde boy. He felt Chris freeze in place and – against all of Daniels expectations – the embrace was not reciprocated. At the same time, his vision blurred a bit; streaks of gold and silver floated through his view. But there was something else to worry about. Instead of hugging Daniel back, Chris wiggled out of his arms, even pushed him away a bit and ran up the stairs. Daniel heard the closing of a door and the streaks faded away. 

_ What the hell? What was that?  _

He looked at Claire, hoping for some kind of explanation. She was looking up the stairs before turning back. The expression in her face was a weird mixture of sadness, joy, and sympathy, only, the sympathy hadn’t been there seconds ago. She made three steps forward so that she stood directly in front of Daniel. Unexpectedly, she knelt down stiffly onto one knee, showing her age. Daniel – still perplexed from Chris’ reaction to his hug – looked at her with tears in his eyes and the feeling of a large hand grasping and squeezing his heart.

“Welcome Daniel. We are so happy to see you well. And we are so incredibly sorry.” Reaching out, she pulled Daniel in for a tight, long hug. For the first moments he just let it happen. Only after a while he returned the embrace, but his mind was not there. 

When he asked the question: “What’s up with Chris?”, Claire let him go and Daniel saw Stephen who had walked up behind from the living room. 

“Oh Daniel. So much has happened since you left. I’m going to tell you everything…” One of the two accompanying agents cleared his throat. She shot an annoyed glance at them. ”But first, there are other things we need to get in order. Please gentlemen, come in.” Standing up, she steadied herself on Daniel’s wounded shoulder, who winced a bit under the increased pressure, despite it being not so bad anymore. “Thank you, dear.” She led all of them into the dining room. 

While Claire and the two agents walked into the dining room, Daniel walked the few steps to Stephen. His grandfather smiled one of his warm smiles down at him. “My dear boy, I’m so happy to see you. We were worried sick after what happened in California.”

The hand clutching Daniel’s heart receded. Finn had been right, there were people that cared for him – apparently not all he named though. “Hi Grandpa. I’m fine, don’t worry.” He tried a reassuring smile but, judging from Stephens expression, didn’t completely succeed.

“Come, we should join the others.” With one hand on the Daniel’ shoulder and the other one on a cane Daniel only noticed now, Stephen led him into the dining room where Claire had just asked the agents if they wanted something to drink.

“No thank you ma’am.” The agent placed a black suitcase on the table and took a pile of documents out, revealing a black ring underneath. “Let me introduce us. I’m agent Donelly, this is agent Reid. These are some forms you and your husband need to sign before we leave Daniel in your custody.” He handed the sheets and a pen over to Claire.

“Now, as stated in the agreement, Daniel needs to wear an ankle bracelet. Every attempt to remove or tamper with it will be counted as an attempt to escape and void the agreement.” Agent Reid took the bracelet out of the suitcase and walked over to Daniel.

“Sit down please”, he said before opening the ring with his cell phone.

Soundlessly the bracelet closed around Daniel’s leg. It felt very unusual and heavy against it. Daniel was very tempted to probe the bracelet with his powers, but Agent Donelly’s warning mentioned mere moments ago kept him from doing anything stupid. “Ok, that’s it for you. We have to talk with your grandparents for a little while.”

As if it was a cue, the doorbell rang once more. Without a word Agent Reid went out of the room before Claire could even make a move. Angrily she followed him with her eyes. Daniel stood up and attempted to leave the room the same way they came in, to go and look after Chris, but Claire’s voice held him back. 

“Daniel, please don’t go upstairs yet. Before you talk to Chris, we need to explain some things and set up some rules.” Daniel groaned internally. Claire was such a big fan of rules. Daniel definitely wasn’t, especially since his journey with Sean and the drifters. 

“Why don’t you wait in the living room honey, I’m sure it will take but a moment.” 

Daniel seriously doubted that but walked through the small hallway into the kitchen. When he passed Stephen, his grandfather gave him a pat on the left arm. “Welcome home, Daniel.” His voice was filled with so much warmth and gratitude, that Daniel cursed the day they went to the Christmas market. Sean and he could have had a good life here. At least now, the running was over and he was back with people that loved him.

The kitchen and living room were as tidy and clean as they had been when Sean and Daniel stayed in winter. He looked up to the painting of the mountain landscape he adjusted months ago. It was weird that the stay around Christmas seemingly was ages ago and at the same time he could remember tiny details as if only hours had passed. 

A voice emerged from the dining room; one Daniel hadn’t heard before. The timbre was so deep he couldn’t understand a word from where he was standing, but he nearly felt vibrations in his chest. He found it odd that a new person would show up at this point and his curiosity got the better of him. As quietly as possible Daniel snuck closer to the doorway that led back to the dining room and stayed just out of sight. 

“… I took over the lead in the investigation after the death of SA Flores at the border. There are quite some gaps in her reports and I fully intend to fill these. It’s interesting, really, her notes leave more questions open than they answer.” The man’s voice had no inflection and didn’t show any emotion at all; it sent shivers down Daniel’s spine. “The attack on the border post was one of the most brutal incidents at the Mexican - US border in our history and opened up even more questions. Had Sean survived the attack he would be on the FBI’s most wanted list. You understand Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds that these investigations could take years and I’m not at all convinced that Daniel is the innocent bystander everybody else seems to make him out to be.” At this point Daniel wished he hadn’t eavesdropped. He went back into the living room and let himself fall into one of the two soft armchairs near the aquarium. 

_ This Agent seems very determined. Can he find anything solid? What if he talks to the people from Haven Point? Will he believe them? What if Tyler talks to the police when he hears what happened at the border?  _

_ Maybe Sean really was right with his rules after all.  _

The part of the conversation he picked up gave him enough to think about until the agents were leaving. He heard the polite “Goodbye” of his grandparents before the shutting of the door. When they walked into the room, Daniel blurted out immediately: “Who was that?” 

“You mean special agent Garner, I assume. He took over the lead in the case after the last agent was killed.” They knew about his powers and the “by you” hung in the air like the blade of a medieval executioner before it came down. His grandparents sat down on the sofa with space in between them, to which they waved Daniel over. 

“Now listen, Daniel. We’re sure you are aware that you cannot use your powers anymore – at least for the moment. It is too dangerous. We want to have you here and we wish we had made you stay when you were here with your brother. If you show your power, they will learn of it and they will find out what  _ you _ did. I’m sure Sean would want you to be here, safe and with family. Who knows what they will do to you if they find out.”

Daniel sat there like a beaten dog. Both laid an arm around his shoulders, carefully avoiding the wound on his arm, he noted absently. Of course, it was only Claire who spoke, Stephen had been more relaxed and had – according to Sean – known about his power before the cabinet fell on him. Daniel assumed that even now he didn’t support a full ban on his powers, but these were Claire’s rules, it didn’t matter. 

“We also would like you to join us for church on Sundays. We think it can give you the spiritual guidance you need.” 

That was bullshit. He had experienced the spiritual guidance of Lisbeth and it had poisoned the relationship with his brother. Not the time to bring it up though.

“Now to a totally different topic. I...I don’t really know how to approach it. So here it is: Charles Erikson committed suicide about two months after you left. Chris’ grandparents didn’t … feel up to the task to take him in so we volunteered and they agreed. Mind you, we had no idea that you would be coming back. Chris’ room is the one you and Sean stayed in and we started cleaning out and refurbishing Karen’s old room for you.” 

Daniel had problems concentrating on what Claire was saying at this point. 

_ Chris lives here. That’s so awesome. It’ll be as if we’re brothers.  _

Of course, the excitement was instantaneously dampened by the thought about Charles and Sean but - nevertheless - Daniel was happy. 

“Can I go and see Chris now?” he asked cheerily. His grandparents shared a smile.

“Sure, go ahead, but…” 

“Thank you”, and off he was. He rushed up the stairs and came to a skittering halt in front of Chris’s closed door. He knocked. No answer. This was odd, he made hell of a noise scurrying up the stairs and taking two or three steps a time and Chris should have heard him. Maybe he listened to music with headphones. Daniel knocked again. “Chris?”

Chris' answer was as unexpected as his reaction at the door. “Go away.” Again the fist clenched at Daniel’s heart. Was Chris still mad about the whole lying about the powers? Was it because of his dad? But Daniel had seen more people die and he was fine – kind of. And Charles’ death was months ago. This should be about the same as when Daniel was thinking about Esteban now. It still hurt, but it wasn’t crushing him anymore.

“Chris. What’s the matter?” Again, no answer. He tried turning the doorknob, but it was locked. 

“Go away Daniel.” The exact same words Sean had used so many times in the same monotonous voice as before. There was something wrong and Daniel wanted to know what. He reached out with his powers to unlock the door. In the moment he touched the metal he heard the whistling of bullets and the shattering of glass. The powers slipped through his fingers and the whole door flew out of the hinges and crashed into the opposite wall. But there was no glass and no bullets.

From downstairs Daniel heard a shriek followed by a truly angry “DANIEL!”. While he heard Claire climbing the stairs with determination, he stepped into Chris’ room. Chris was sitting on the bed, reading some old Hawt Dawg Man comic. He didn’t even look up. The room itself was tidy and clean, just as Claire liked it. The action figures that were around in Chris’ room months ago were nowhere to be seen. The room reminded Daniel very much of his own room in Haven Point. There was even a bible quote (“I can do all this through  **him** who gives me strength”) hanging on the wall. 

Claire appeared in the door with a red face, looking as if she would breath fire any moment now. “Daniel, I told you, your powers are not to be used. And the first thing you do in this house is blow out a door with them? I tell you right now, another thing like this and you have to stay inside the house for the rest of the summer. This is  _ my _ house and these are  _ my _ rules and you  _ will _ live by them.” 

Daniel was torn between anger about the rules, guilt because he lost control and destroyed the door, and fear of being sent away, but also fear of Claire. “If Chris doesn’t want to talk to you”, the scolding went on, ”then you have to respect that and leave him alone.” 

“It’s Ok Claire. I should’ve known.” Chris' voice was so gentle in comparison to Claire’s, Daniel nearly missed it.

Claire obviously wanted to say more but Chris had taken the wind out of her sails. “Very well. I’ll think of some additional chores for you Daniel. And you’ll help to fix this door. Stephen cannot do it alone. Remember: No more use of your powers, not even for repairing.” 

When Claire was gone, Daniel shifted his attention back to Chris. He was looking in the general direction of Daniel, but Chris’ eyes never fixated on him. They moved around as if following a fly that was flying around him . He didn’t know how to start this conversation anymore. In the end he settled for: “Thanks for helping me out with Claire.” 

“No worries. She can be intimidating.” Chris smiled knowingly. “But blowing out my door? You like getting into trouble don’t you?” Before Daniel could answer Chris continued. “I’m sorry about Sean. They told me about it when they said you’d be coming here. He was such a cool brother.” Chris’ gaze finally fixated Daniel.

Daniel sat down cross legged where he stood. “He was. He was the best brother imaginable.” Daniel had the feeling he should still be crying when talking about Sean. He was still sad, but there were no more tears. Was this normal? “Claire just told me about your dad. What happened?” 

“I don’t know. He seemed to be better after you stayed here. Didn’t drink as much, yelled way less. But just after New Years it became worse and worse again. He shot himself on Valentine’s Day.” Daniel looked up at Chris. There were no tears, but the hurt about the loss was obvious. 

“I don’t know what to say. Everything seems so… meaningless.” Chris nodded in agreement and they sat in silence for a while until Daniel couldn’t bear it any longer.

“Chris what’s wrong? Why don’t you wanna talk to me? Are you mad because I lied to you about my powers? That’s the only thing I can think of. I was so happy when I saw you here and you just ran to your room!” 

Chris didn’t answer right away and Daniel saw his eyes move around again. He looked around as well but could not see anything special and there was definitely no fly.

“I swear it’s not because you lied. You have no idea how much I was looking forward to having you here. It was the first time I felt happy again. But then I saw you and – how shall I put this … you’re dangerous.” 

_Does he know what I did? Did Claire tell him about the border? Does he think I’d hurt him?_ A wave of fear washed over him. “What do you mean?” 

Once more, Chris looked straight at him. “You’re losing control over your powers.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Daniel finally arrived in Beaver Creek and met Chris again. I really was looking forward to this story arc and hope you enjoy as much reading it as I have writing it (with all the ups and downs).  
> As always I had help from my wonderful beta-readers [Bracco](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bracco), Aneroid and as newest member to the team [Super_Wolf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Super_Wolf/pseuds/Super_Wolf) and I thank them for the chance to discuss my work with them and improve it accordingly.  
> Bracco and Super_Wolf (and for that matter [souvenirsfromapastlife](https://archiveofourown.org/users/souvenirsfromapastlife) as well) have wonderful stories and you should check these out. All of their stories (and many more) are an inspiration to me. 
> 
> I hope you liked this chapter and if you did please leave kudos or a comment.


	9. Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to [Bracco](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bracco). With this dedication I want to thank _you_ especially for all your work you do beta reading this story. Thank you.

Daniel was shocked. He himself hadn’t connected the dots until now, but Chris had a point. Blowing off the door was only the tip of the iceberg. When had it begun? In San Diego? Before that?

“How can you know that?” 

Chris grimaced. “I’m not sure I can explain. It’s complicated and I haven’t talked with anybody about it. When I look at and around you, I see something like strings.” 

“Huh? When I hugged you, I saw streaks of silver and gold.”

Chris looked surprised. “Really? I didn’t know other people could see it.” 

“Maybe I’m just that special”, Daniel said with a smirk. 

Chris laughed happily. “Dork. Maybe you are.” 

Daniel nodded and Chris was silent for a few seconds, then he joined Daniel on the floor and held one hand out, palm upwards. “Lay your hand on top. “

Curiously Daniel did as told. Immediately the strings Chris talked about sprung up. They were all around him, dancing in the air, it was a magnificent picture. 

“Normally I need to hold someones hand to see. With you it just get’s more intensive.

“You see this dim one over there?” Chris pointed at a golden string that had nearly lost all his shining power. 

“Yes, I do.” 

Chris looked at him with relief. “I’m so happy I can share this with somebody. I might have gone crazy otherwise. 

“Ok, this one tells a story for when you didn’t blow off the door.” 

“It tells a story? What do you mean?” 

“I… Hm. You don’t hear the story, don’t feel it?” 

“No. It’s just a dim string to me.” 

“Oh”, Chris’ excitement about sharing his secret was clearly a bit dampened by that, “ok. Then you just have to believe me, I guess. As I said, that’s the story of that one. This one”, he pointed towards a bright glowing silver line, “tells the story that you lose control completely and destroy the house. This is why I didn’t want to talk to you. I know one story _will_ happen but not which one.” 

“But if you don’t know exactly what will happen, how could you be sure I have lost control?” 

“So, you see some strings run together at one point, don’t you?” Daniel nodded. “These are events that happen in every string that runs through it. I guess that also means that they are more likely to happen.”

Daniel began to understand. The uncontrolled outbursts of his powers were devastating and if Chris could see such events, he would want to prevent these. 

“That’s so cool, you have your own superpower now. Now the spirit squad is even more powerful. And you can help me regain control, can’t you?” 

Chris pulled his hand away and the strings very quickly faded. 

“Uhm… Most of the stories happen maybe within a week or two. Sometimes a month. I’d hoped you wouldn’t use your powers to get in. Only then I saw you regain control. There isn’t one string I can see in which you succeed now.” 

“What, no! That can’t be! I...” 

“Is it so bad? You mustn’t use your powers anyway.” 

“What if I really need them? Like say, to save you from a bear for example.” Daniel stopped and quickly recounted everything he knew now. “Hm but with your power you wouldn’t even get into a situation like that. You can avoid any problems. Ooh, we can play pranks and whatever and never get caught.” 

“Hahaha, that would be awesome. But it’s not how it works. I told you I don’t know which story is gonna happen. Also, I can’t see my own stories.” 

“What? Aww that’s so shitty. Why not?” 

“I have no clue. Sometimes I see myself in the story of somebody else. Like in Claire’s, I saw that she would take me in. It didn’t seem very likely though. Lucky break, I guess.” 

“Boys, dinner’s ready!” 

“As if she knew we were talking about her. C’mon Dany, I know what she planned.” Chris jumped up. 

“Dany, hm?” 

“Oh, sorry. Daniel.” 

Daniel smiled. “No, it’s fine. I like it.” Daniel reached out with his hand and Chris helped him up. The strings were a bit disorienting, but they faded away quickly and Chris himself was as solid as he could be. 

“It’ll take some time getting used to that. But you know what? Captain Spirit is the perfect superhero name for you. You know, because it’s like you can see into a spirit world.” Chris’s smile went from ear to ear. Together they ran down the stairs and tumbled into the dining room. 

“Slowly, slowly. Have you washed your hands? No? Off you go.” 

Claire had outdone herself with the food. The rib eye steak in herb crust was delicious, the tagliatelle perfectly cooked and the glazed carrots sweet and tasty. Daniel couldn’t remember when he last ate such a delicious meal, it was certainly not during the last year. As a dessert Claire had baked a yellow cake and a carrot cake and there was even some ice cream to go with it. Everything made Daniel feel welcome. The accident with the door was not spoken off and the conversation was light and cheerful. They talked about what happened during the time Daniel was gone from Beaver Creek - while maintaining a large distance from anything that could tie to Charles’ or Sean’s death - and that there would be a field trip for children of Claire and Stephen’s church group. The two boys could – and in Claire’s opinion should – join, if they wanted to. Daniel wasn’t sure if that was a good idea, but he said he’d think about it. 

After dinner, Daniel helped bring Chris the dirty dishes into the kitchen and the two boys just wanted to climb the stairs again, when he heard Stephen call him. 

“Daniel, wait a moment. A package arrived yesterday, with your name on it.” He turned around, jumped the three steps of the stairs he’d already taken and walked expectantly to his grandfather who held a small bundle. “Thanks grandpa.” He let himself drop onto the sofa, with Chris right beside him. The paper was very nondescript and only the words “For Daniel” were scribbled on it. 

“It was wrapped twice, only the second wrapping showed your name. The shipper was a law firm in San Diego by the name of Berry, Padmore and Anderson.” 

Daniel knew exactly from whom this was. He tore the wrapping and held his brother’s sketchbook in his hands. A short letter laid on top. 

_Dear Superwolf_

_I’m so sorry about everything that happened. I don’t know why Ben called the police and I don’t plan to talk to him again. I’ve moved out and live with one of my brothers now (although that’s one thing I wanted to avoid). I hope you can forgive me. I did everything I could to get you out of the police’s hands. I hope to see you soon. Please call me, once you’re safe._

_Finn_

“What’s this?” Chris’ question abruptly brought Daniel back into the living room. 

“It’s Sean’s sketchbook.” 

The silent O Chris formed with his mouth showed he could imagine the importance of this to Daniel. Daniel didn’t think he’d see the book again so quickly. In his mind Finn had hid it for the foreseeable future but he was relieved to hold it in his hands again. Now it was his turn to keep it safe. 

“Can we go upstairs now?”, he asked with a slight shake in his voice. 

“Of course, my boy. We’ll be here if you need anything”, Stephen said, before slowly walking to the kitchen with a screwdriver in the hand.

Solemnly Daniel took the stairs to the first floor, holding the book in both hands. Instinctively he turned right to – now – Chris’ room. When he stood in the open doorway he remembered and turned around. Chris stood right behind him. 

“Uhm, sorry. I need to get used to you living here.” 

“Are you ok, Dany?” 

“Hm? Oh, yeah, yeah.” 

He slipped around his friend and went to his own bedroom. It was very sparsely furnished, but he didn’t notice at the moment. Daniel sat on the bed and opened the book on a random page. 

“Can I join you?” Chris stood in the doorframe, looking in shyly. Daniel waved him over and scooted over to make a bit more space for Chris to sit. The page Daniel had opened showed a drawing from the cabin in the woods. It was a peaceful scene with Mushroom as the centrepiece. 

“This is from a few days before we met you. This was our little dog; she was killed by a puma.” Daniel could feel Chris’ arm touch his when he moved closer to have a better look. 

“How long did you stay there?” 

“I don’t know. Let’s see, maybe Sean made a note.” 

He rummaged around a little. The book was a bit like Sean’s memory. He noted all the things he deemed important down, including the discovery of the hut about three weeks before the drawing. 

“Sean trained me there.” 

“You think you’d find it again? Maybe it would help you regain control. You know, go back to where it started.” 

“I don’t think so. I was ill, that’s why we left. And also because of the food. But it was in the middle of the winter and Sean carried me for part of the way. My illness was the main reason we came here. Sean hoped Claire and Stephen would help without turning us in. In the end they helped us get away as much as you did.” 

Quickly he turned to Chris. “I’m sorry I lied to you. You really could’ve been hurt.” 

“I wasn’t. You saved me. Of course, I was angry at first. But then I realized you’re a real superhero. You couldn’t just reveal your powers, not even to me. The police think they lost control of the car because of the snow and I was standing there suddenly.” Chris laughed. “They asked me questions - where you’d go next and all. If you threatened me to help you. It was all BS of course. I couldn’t help them even a little bit, which made me quite happy. I didn’t want to betray you Superwolf.” 

Daniel made the sign of the spirit squad and Chris followed suit. “You’re a good leader, Captain Spirit.” Then Daniel noticed something. 

“Hey, we were sitting side by side, arms touching but your power didn’t activate. Doesn’t it work through clothing and stuff?” 

“I always see the shiniest strings around you. But now that you mention it, there weren’t more while we were sitting here. Wait a moment.” Chris jumped up and ran out of the room. Daniel could hear him open drawers in his room, things landing on the floor before he returned. He’d donned one of his Captain Spirit gloves. “Shall we do a test?” 

Daniel stretched out his hand and Chris took it with his gloved hand. Some golden strings appeared, but by far not as many as before. Chris let go and touched his lower, bare arm instead. Nothing happened. “That’s so cool. I never noticed this before.” 

“How long have you had your power anyway?” 

Chris suddenly seemed very sad. “I noticed at my Dad’s funeral, when everybody wanted to shake my hand. You can’t imagine how that was. I was angry and sad, and everybody wanted to say how sorry they were and that - if they could do something for me - they‘d be there for me. And at the same time all around people the strings sprung up and I could see their stories. I didn’t know what was happening. But I could tell there and then who meant what they said. In the end only your grandparents held their promise. Daniel? Are you listening?” 

“Hm, oh yes. That must have been awful. Sorry, you talking about the funeral reminded me that I couldn’t be there for my dad’s.” 

“You don’t want to be there, believe me. Everyone made a sad face, which just made me sadder. A lot of the people I saw the first time there. They said a lot of nice things about my dad, but they didn’t know how he really was.” Chris sounded bitter. When Daniel looked at him a single tear rolled down his cheek, which he angrily swept away. 

“Sorry Chris. I didn’t want to make you feel bad.” 

Chris nodded. “It’s nothing Dany. You’re here now. I have a great place to live with my best friend as a foster brother. Shall we go back to reading your brother’s notebook?” 

Daniel was just about to pick the book up from where he put it during the experiment when a faint knock drew his attention to the door. Claire stood there and looked in. 

“Have you settled in Sweetie? I’m sorry it’s not much yet, but we’ll get there shortly.” 

“It’s perfect, grandma thank you.” 

“That’s great to hear. Anyway, it’s time to get ready for bed.” 

Chris already had hopped up, but Daniel couldn’t let it stand: “What, but I’m not tired” 

“It’s almost nine thirty, it’s time for you to sleep.” Daniel could just prevent himself from snorting. He couldn’t remember when he slept that early last, but there was no point in arguing. 

“Can I sleep in Chris’ room today? If he’s okay with it I mean.” Chris nodded fervently. “I nearly always slept with somebody in the same bed in the last few months. It helps me sleep without nightmares.” 

“Ok, this one time. Because it’s your first night here. Now chop, chop, get ready for bed. We bought some things for you Daniel, I hope they fit. Chris helped choose.” She gestured to the cupboard. “I’ll be back in ten minutes and check on you.” 

Once Chris heard her moving on the stairs he asked: “You really have nightmares?” He looked a bit frightened. Daniel grinned slyly. 

“Sometimes. But just now it was a convenient reason for a sleepover.” Chris joined Daniel in grinning. 

“Ok. I hope I can sleep while you’re around. You know with all the lingering strings and if I touch you while sleeping…” 

Daniel understood Chris’ worried look now. 

“You can always wake me. I can sleep here too, you know. C’mon it’s time to change.” Chris disappeared and Daniel had a look inside the drawers. There were a set of T-shirts, some pants, socks and underwear. He also found new pyjamas with a wolf design and a wolf squad hoody, like the one Sean had worn. He took it out and looked at it in disbelief. He stumbled into Chris’ room without even noticing that Chris was just undressing. 

“Was this your idea?” 

Chris quickly finished putting on his Pj’s. “Yes. I saw it when we went shopping and remembered Sean wearing it. I thought it’d be the perfect gift for you. After all, you two are the wolf squad.” 

Daniel couldn’t keep back his tears any longer. These weren’t just tears of grief anymore but also of gratitude. “Th…Tha…Thank you”, Daniel mumbled in between the sobs. 

Chris wrapped his arms around him and the strings jumped into Daniel's vision again. “It’s going to be Ok, Dany. It’ll take some time, but it’s going to be fine.” 

And Daniel believed him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the happiest and easiest chapter to write so far and I really enjoyed giving Daniel a small break.  
> Thank you to my other beta readers Aneroid and [Super_Wolf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Super_Wolf/pseuds/Super_Wolf) it is always a joy to talk about the story with you.


	10. Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: PTSD, Blood

The sleepover began with the prayer Daniel already knew from his first stay in Beaver Creek. He wasn’t really up to it, not since Haven Point, but he didn’t want to disappoint Claire. 

“Lord, we thank you for Daniel’s safe return. Give, that he and Chris can leave their past behind and lead them into a joyful future. Let Esteban, Charles and Sean rest in peace in your gracious embrace. Amen.

“Now sleep well, you two. Don’t talk too long - and the light stays off. We can hear and see it very easily now, if you don’t.” Her eyes moved to look at the door that still leaned against the wall, but she smiled and gave both boys a fleeting kiss on the forehead. “Good night.” 

They both dropped backwards simultaneously. Daniel folded his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. 

“Does she do this every evening?” 

“Mhm, it was strange at first. We never prayed at home, not even when mom was still alive. But it’s become something of a ritual, you know. I wanted dad to be happy and OK again and praying for that just… seemed right. They also take me to church on Sundays, but if I don’t want to, I can stay here.” 

“She said she would like me to join them for church. I’m not so sure that is a good idea...” 

“Hey, it’s your first night here. Let’s talk about something else. What do you wanna do tomorrow?” Chris' voice was almost too cheerful and Daniel was wondering, once again, if Chris just deflected and didn’t want to know about what he did, or if he already knew.

“Uhm, I don’t know. When we were here before, Claire didn’t want us to leave the house. Is there something interesting to do?” 

“Not much, to be honest. The church has a playground and there’s a community pool. The school has a playground too, but I don’t really like to go there. We can always hunt Mantroid and his minions of course.” 

“Do you have an adventure in mind?”, Daniel asked excitedly. 

“Always. And when I heard you’d come back, I also started working on something special, but I need some more time for that. We need to fix the sky fortress at some point too. Dad promised to do it but… maybe we can ask Stephen.” 

“It would be easy if I could use my powers.” 

“Yes, but for the moment that is out of the question, don’t you think?” 

Daniel agreed silently. “Maybe we can go into the woods behind the house and I can train a little. Try to regain control, you know?” 

“Dany, do you really want to break Claire’s rules right away? Again? She might lock you in your room for a month if you do that.”

“That’d be awful, being locked up inside, not being able to have fun and play with you. Ah, fuck you’re right.” 

Chris giggled. “Don’t let Claire hear you swearing. She’ll wash your mouth out.” 

Daniel started giggling as well. “Not swearing could be harder than not using my powers.” 

The giggling and talking lasted until they could hear Stephen and Claire come up the stairs. Both shut up instantly and Daniel fell asleep while waiting for his grandparents to retire to their room. 

* * *

Daniel sat in Karen’s car with Sean at his side. They had stopped in front of the police blockade. “How does the story of the wolf brothers’ end?” Daniel asked with a bit of a shake in his voice.

“They make it to the other side, _enano_. With his powers the little wolf obliterates the hunters and they can escape unscathed.” Daniel looked at his big brother and nodded in agreement. “Be careful”, Sean added. Nothing penetrated his shield and the powers he unleashed were only comparable to the storms he caused when he lost control. After he’d finished, Sean drove the car over cracked paving, past destroyed vehicles and dead agents into Mexico. 

Daniel sat on the desk in the office and looked out onto the bay of Puerto Lobos. He’d thought they’d find peace in Mexico but looking back at the past six years he had to admit, this had been a delusion from the beginning. Thanks to his powers they had been mostly safe, but they nonetheless had to fight to survive. At first it had been some desperate head-hunters who wanted to bring them back to the US. The attention they got because of this led to a certain level of infamy the local gangs picked up on. Sean had been adamant that they don’t want to associate with the gangs. But months of pressure became years. One time they helped someone – a child – who needed a place to hide during the day. In the night, the house was nearly burned down. They had had no other choice than teaming up with one of the gangs.

Daniel shook his head. It wasn’t easy, but they were together and alive.

_Beats the alternative every time._

He heard Sean move around in the adjacent repair shop _._

_When was the point of no return? Where was the last stop we could’ve turned around and prevented all of this from happening? I don’t even remember. So much has happened since dad died. Sean has changed so much since then, and so have I._

Daniel rarely thought back to the life they’d had in Seattle and the run to Puerto Lobos. He remembered the drifters; Finn and Jacob had visited and it had been great. He remembered Claire and Stephen and the neighbour’s boy. Charles? No, that was his dads’ name. Chris! That was it. He didn’t have contact with him since they crossed to Mexico. He had some friends here but, in the meantime, they were mostly gang-members.

He heard a voice – not Sean’s – from the garage and looked up. A gun had come into his view, it was directed in the back of the repair shop.

_Ooh, that’s bold. It’s been a while since somebody wanted to rob us. The fear of the “ghosts” that protect us, isn’t what it once has been apparently. Unfortunate. We worked so hard to keep the appearance of a haunted house. Well, bad luck for them._

Silently he stood up and sneaked closer. His powers already controlled the gun, there was no danger for Sean. Three men were standing in the room, two of which Daniel quickly got rid of, only the gun carrier stood there unharmed. Now that Daniel was there, a malicious grin appeared on Sean’s face. Together with the black glass eye he had gotten some years ago, he almost looked possessed.

One by one Daniel opened the thug’s fingers, bending them backwards until they snapped. He cried but there was no mercy to be had. He wanted to run but Daniel didn’t let him. The arm bowed unnaturally at the elbow until it broke, with an audible crack. The thug was only whimpering at this point, his eyes darting around, trying to understand what happened and finding no answer. Daniel had seen this more than just once. A quick look to Sean, a nod and the whimpering stopped, the body dropped lifeless to the floor.

“Thanks dude, good work. Take the car and bring them somewhere, not too close.” Daniel nodded, he knew the drill. “When you’re back, I’ll close the shop and we have a nice cold beer on the beach.” He smiled with brotherly love.

When Daniel came back Sean wasn’t in the garage, but he saw the opened back door. He quickly washed his hand in the sink in the shop and walked out onto the beach. Sean had already set up the deck chairs and on the cooler in between the chairs stood two beers. He himself sat there, looking out onto the sea. “Hey Sean, I’m back. I thought you’d stop working once I returned”, Daniel said mockingly. No answer, not even a wave. “Sean?”, still no reaction at all. He took some steps and noted the dark red discolouration in the deck chair’s fabric. He stopped dead for a moment.

_No, this can’t be. We are safe here._

Daniel stumbled over the short distance to look in his brother’s face. Sean had his eyes closed and if there weren’t two bleeding wounds in his chest, Daniel had just thought Sean had fallen asleep in the comfortable temperature of the afternoon sun. A wind picked up from one moment to the other, picking up sand and water, whirling around the two brothers and obscuring any curious gazes. Sean’s eyes fluttered open as he noticed the warm breeze on his skin. Every breath was accompanied by a rattling sound and bloody bubbles in the corner of his lips. Daniel wasn’t prepared for this. This couldn’t happen, this mustn’t happen. He wanted to run back to the house, to look for the first aid kit and call an ambulance. But his brother’s voice held him back. “I think this is goodbye, _enano_. We had a good run. I…”

* * *

“Daniel. Daniel. Superwolf, wake up.” Chris was shaking Daniel by both shoulders and his arm hurt like when he was shot. His eyelids flickered open and he jerked up. “What?” 

“You were crying in your sleep and whimpered Sean’s name and …”, Chris looked over to the desk where his drawings had lain, which now were spread all over the room. 

“Sorry”, Daniel could feel the hot tears on his cheeks. He grabbed his arm. It only hurt, otherwise it seemed okay. “I’ll go to my room so at least you can sleep.” 

“No, no way. You stay here. It’s not as bad as I thought. I don’t want you to be alone.” Daniel looked over and saw Chris’ hands clutched to an old teddy bear and his eyes wide open.

“You’re a bad liar, you know that Chris? But you’re the best friend I could hope for.” He stood up and left the room. “I’ll be right back.”

He went to his own room, searched through his backpack and picked the painkillers out he’d gotten from Tyler. After he’d swallowed one with a sip of water, he went back to Chris. He was already fast asleep again. Daniel lied down, but sleep wasn’t coming easily this time.

The next morning, however, came too soon. Chris shook Daniel awake, who could barely open his eyes. “Let’s go Superwolf. Crime doesn’t wait.” 

“What time is it?”, mumbled Daniel. 

“Nearly eight. Claire’s already downstairs preparing breakfast.” He shot out of the room. 

Daniel stared at the ceiling and remembered his dream. It’d been so vivid. Remarkably similar to the one he had when he fell unconscious at the border. Was it a dream? Was it something more perhaps, triggered by the proximity to Chris and his powers? But Chris was nowhere near Daniel on the 4th of July. And the dream at the border had at least partially happened. Daniel remembered Sean’s drawing and that he actually never checked if Sean drew him as dark as he dreamt. He got up, sleepily stumbled to his room, took the sketchbook and sat cross legged on his bed. Flipping through the pages he quickly found the drawing in question. There were no monsters and no evil looking superhero. Sean had drawn him in a relaxed state, playing with some pebbles, floating in the air. It was a peaceful picture, one that put Daniel’s mind to rest. 

_Thanks Sean._

“Dany? What are you doing? Claire’s waiting with breakfast.” Chris had appeared in the doorframe. 

“Hm? Oh I just wanted to check something. I’ll be there in a minute.” 

Still a bit groggy from sleep, Daniel got dressed and went to the kitchen. The smell of waffles and fried bacon floated around and made his mouth water.

“Good morning, grandma.”

“Good morning, sweetheart. Did you sleep well?” Daniel looked at Chris who, in turn, looked expectantly at him.

“No, not really. I had a really bad nightmare.”

“Oh honey, I thought you were fibbing. I’m sorry. You want to talk about it?”

Silently Daniel shook his head.

“Ok. Here, have some breakfast, that may cheer you up a little.” Claire handed Daniel a plate. The waffles were as fluffy and tasty as he remembered and his mood indeed improved a little.

“So, what’s the plan Captain Spirit? Who are we going to hunt today?”

“Well, Snowmancer is not coming back to earth until later this year and we’re not prepared to face off Mantroid yet. I think Noctared has a lair not far away though. We could look for that.” Chris found in his role as leader of the spirit squad immediately but before he could go on Claire intervened:

“Hold on. Daniel has chores to do this morning and, in the afternoon, we’re going to buy some more things for his room.”

“What? But that’s totally unfair”, protested Daniel only to quickly shut his mouth when Claire glared at him.

“Count yourself lucky you only have the additional chores today. Anyway, we need a new desk for you, perhaps a shelf for some books. And some little extras.”

Hearing about the new things he would get reminded Daniel of what he had had in Seattle. His playbox and all the toys in his room. Before he came here, he never considered he might get them back, but right now?

“Grandma?”

“Yes, Daniel?”

“What happened to our house in Seattle? And the stuff inside it?”

Her look became much softer. “I don’t really know, sweetheart. I suppose most of it was sold. We weren’t contacted about that, but perhaps I can make some calls. Does that sound good to you?”

He nodded. He was grateful for Claire’s offer, but thinking about how everything he owned, everything that could remind him of Sean and his dad was gone, just made him sad. It was as if his life before they ran away never existed. How was life back in Seattle anyway? Did Noah think about him sometimes? Did Lyla? While he was pondering his thoughts, he stuffed the waffles in his mouth and was surprised when there suddenly was no more food.

“That was really good, grandma.”

“You should eat more slowly, you know. Do you want some more?”

“Nah, thank you, I’m fine.”

“Okay then. After you’ve brushed your teeth you can start with polishing the silverware.”

Daniel was very close to protesting one more time, but he saw Chris shake his head, barely noticeably. He looked at Claire and her face said so clearly “try me” that he kept his mouth firmly shut.

Polishing the silverware was boring and tedious. It was even worse since Claire had sent Chris out because she wanted Daniel to do it on his own. Only fifteen minutes later though she sat down herself, picked up the polish and a spare towel, quickly looked at the knives Daniel had made shine again and picked up a blackened one. They sat and worked quietly for a while. Daniel was quite glad about Claire’s help, there was so much cutlery, he just didn’t understand why Chris wasn’t allowed to do the same. It became clear some minutes later when Claire began to talk.

“You know the agents told us everything that they think Sean did.” Daniel wanted to interrupt her directly.

_Claire can’t think bad of Sean._

Claire raised her hands conciliatorily. “I’m not here to accuse Sean of anything, Daniel. I want to hear your story. If you don’t want to tell me, or don’t want to tell everything, that’s fine.”

Daniel considered what to do. It was his one shot to clear Sean’s name, at least in the eyes of his grandparents. They suspected Daniel’s involvement anyway, that he was sure about. So, did it really matter if he told her? The real question was: How she would react to his confessions and if Daniel cared more about that than Sean’s memory. And the second part was a definitive **no**.

“We hopped on a train and…” He started and told her everything. It was different than with Finn. Claire didn’t interrupt, didn’t say or comment one thing, she just listened. When he told her about Haven Point, a look of sympathy washed over her face - though it seemed like there was something more to it. Maybe concern? She didn’t react to the mentions of Karen at all, however. Once he came to the last part of his story, she took his hand and held it firmly. Somehow it was odd, he hadn’t expected this support from her and it gave Daniel the courage to tell her the whole truth.

“You have gone through a lot”, Claire started after Daniel finished. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am. We should have made you stay when you were here, should have talked with Sean about it.” Daniel saw the wetness in her eyes and realized that she felt guilty too. It was a curtain quickly drawn again though. “You…,” she pressed her lips together and started anew, “I know it must have been an overwhelming situation and I can only imagine the pain, fear and confusion you felt. Nonetheless, killing all these people was… a shocking act of selfishness..” 

Daniel stared at her blankly. She was intently looking at the spoon she was just polishing, lips pressed together to a thin, nearly white line. 

_How? How was I selfish there? This is stupid. I only thought about Sean._

“They killed my brother; they killed Sean!”, was the only thing he could muster. 

“And you think that makes it alright to kill all these people? I believe with all my heart that god has granted you your powers to do good in the world. To save people from harm, like you did with Stephen. Right there at the border, you didn’t walk on the path _he_ wanted you to walk. 

“Because I believe in god, I also believe in absolution, _if_ somebody is really sorry for what they did and want to make up for it. You are a good boy at heart, Daniel. This journey brought just the worst out of you and I don’t say that wouldn’t have happened to me if I had been in the same situation. But these times are over now. You are welcome, loved and safe here.”

“But if you believe my powers come from god, why can’t I use them?”

“Because they still look into your case and any mention of any supernatural going on would undoubtedly lead them to you. You are the one binding everything together, they just don’t know it. And even though I believe that god has given you your powers, they frighten me.”

“Ok, I think I understand. But I would never h…” He also didn’t want to hurt Sean and nevertheless it happened.

Claire pressed his hand and a bit before answering: “I know you don’t want to hurt us, Sweetie. But you cannot deny that you not wanting something to happen, doesn’t mean it can’t happen.”

Of course, she was right and more so than she knew.

“What if I’m not sorry for what I did?”

“Maybe you’re not sorry now. Maybe you never will be.” She let go off his hand. “But I will try to show you that you are wrong. But this is neither the time nor the place to have such a discussion. And look at that, we finished polishing. How about you go and mow the lawn now.”

Grudgingly Daniel got up and walked to the hallway.

“Ask Stephen for the keys to the shed. If you finish with this before lunchtime, you can play for the rest of the morning with Chris.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my beta readers [Bracco](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bracco), Aneroid and [Super_Wolf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Super_Wolf/pseuds/Super_Wolf)  
> If you like the story so far, please consider leaving kudos or even a comment.


	11. Mea Culpa

It had been an exhausting day. Of course Claire was as fond of her grass being mowed perfectly as she was proud of her squeaky-clean household in general. There had not much time been to play with Chris before lunch, but it had been a very welcome distraction. After eating, they drove to Eugene to buy some new furniture, clothes and stationary because he ‘obviously needed to go back to school’. Daniel never had thought about that. School had been so far away for the last 10 months that he totally forgot that was what ‘normal’ children did. Stephen and Claire had an appointment with the principal of Beaver Creek elementary school on Monday to enlist him. Daniel wasn’t sure how he felt about that. The thought of being around so many children again was a bit weird. What was the school here like anyway? He’d need to talk to Chris about that.

They also bought an additional controller for Chris’ Playbox, which the boys wanted to try out as soon as they were home but when they returned it was already dinner time.

The next day would be Sunday and Claire and Stephen asked how Chris and Daniel would feel about joining them for church. Daniel frowned, this again. Luckily, Chris came to his rescue. “I think I’d rather stay home tomorrow. I’ll join you next week though.”

Looking at Stephen and Claire, Daniel saw that they knew the discussion was already over. There was no way Daniel would join without Chris and they were well aware of that. Nonetheless they expected an answer: “What about you, Daniel?”

“Uhm, I’ll stay at home with Chris.”

“What about next week?”

Daniel shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe. Probably not, if I’m completely honest.”

Stephen looked sadly at Daniel and Claire seemed to deflate a little. “Think about it, will you? Not every parish is like the one you encountered in Nevada.”

“Yesyes, I will.”

“Alright. Now help me get the dirty plates to the sink and then you two can go.”

There was a nice large TV-Screen hidden in the cupboard in Chris’ room, allowing them to play some Pokémon on the console Chris received for Christmas. They just finished a fight when Chris put the controller down and began to address the last night. “Dany, about your nightmare. I understand if you don’t wanna tell me or talk about what happened, but you used your power in it.”

“No, I didn’t. Well ok, I did, but not like that. Sometimes it just happens and I don’t have control over it. Although as far as I know this night was the first time it happened while I was asleep.”

“What would’ve happened if I hadn’t woken you?”

“Dunno. Could’ve stopped again or gotten way worse. The only thing that ever worked, when I was trying to stop it, was thinking about my time here and our adventures.”

Chris looked at the ceiling, lost in thoughts. “These were good times, yes. I missed hanging out with you so much. But you can’t really think about that when you’re dreaming, right?”

“I guess not.”

Chris starred at the ceiling for some more seconds, then he reached out with his hand. Curiously, Daniel looked at him: “What are you trying?”

“I want to look if you,'' Chris paused, barely noticeable, “have another nightmare.”

That wasn’t all, Daniel could read it in Chris’ tense body language. “You really think I’m dangerous, don’t you?”

“Please, Dany. I just want to help you. This is the best way I can think of to do it.”

Wordlessly he gave Chris his hand. The strings sprang up and seemed so real that he was sure if he reached out, he could touch one of them. There were so many though, Daniel was unable to fixate one to prove his theory. It didn’t help that they moved all the time.

Chris on the other hand seemed to only look at some strings to dismiss them right away, with others he stayed for a second or two and then switched to the next. Daniel completely lost track of time, while more and more strings came into view. When Chris cut the connection, the room came into focus once more, the remaining strings a mere afterthought in the corner of Daniel’s eyes.

Impatiently, Daniel waited for Chris to say something. Chris was just sitting there, looking a bit lost and confused. In the end Daniel couldn’t hold back anymore: “So? What did you see?”

Chris quickly shook his head, then he smiled reassuringly at Daniel. “Best I can tell is that you probably won’t have any more nightmares like _that_. There were still some strings that showed you using your power in your sleep, but if I’m around it should be fine.” The smile changed to a slightly mischievous grin. “Therefore, what would you say if we have some more sleepovers? I can wake you up and it’s going to be alright.”

Instant excitement filled Daniel: “Hell yeah. But what will grandma say?”

“We won’t tell Claire and Stephen. Just wait for them to go to bed and then sneak over. They checked on me in the evening, but not in the morning, so we should be fine.”

“Ok. That sounds awesome.”

It was quite late when Daniel sneaked over to Chris’ room and the other boy was already fast asleep. Daniel climbed into the bed and thought about the future. He had to go back to school; what would the other children think of him? Would he be in the same class as Chris? What would happen if he didn’t use his powers anymore? Even though his mind was filled with all these questions, it didn’t take long until sleep came.

The next morning, he woke up before Chris. The house was silent, and Daniel wondered what time it was. He remembered that Claire and Stephen left rather early for church, but were they already gone? Carefully, so not to wake Chris he loosened his friends’ hand that was clutched to his lower arm and stopped as soon as he’d laid it down. There were no strings! So, Chris’ powers did not work when he was asleep. That was a relief.

Daniel quietly got up, walked to his room and got dressed. In the kitchen there was a small note from his grandparents who had already left the house. Daniel prepared a bowl of cereal and ate quickly. There was something on his mind and now was the perfect time to take care of it. A few minutes later he picked up the phone and called Finn’s number. It rang only twice before the familiar voice answered.

“Mhm.” It appeared as if Daniel had woken Finn from sleep, oh well.

“Hey, Finn. I got your letter.”

“Daniel!” From one moment to the other Finn sounded wide awake. “I was worried. So glad to hear from you. How are you?”

“I’m fine. Actually, I’m good, I think. You know my friend Chris, he’s living with my grandparents as well! And it’s really nice here.”

“That’s awesome dude. I’m happy it worked out so well.”

“I have you to thank for that. Without you I might be dead by now. Or still with the police. You helped me even though I was really shitty to you.”

“It was the least I could do, really. I’m just glad everything turned out so well. You deserve some good luck more than anybody else.”

“Thanks, Finn. What will you be doing now?”

“Oh, you know. This ‘n that. Perhaps I’m gonna look for the others soon and pray that they take me back. I’m not sure how long I want to stay with my brother. If I stay here, I have to look for a new job.”

“Will you visit me here in Beaver Creek?”

“Of course! But that might be a while out. You can always call me tho. I meant it when I said I’ll always be there for you, even if I’m far away.”

“I’ll be here for you as well, Finn.”

“Aaawww, that’s really sweet of you to say, lil wolf. But y' know, I’m the older one, you shouldn’t need to be here for me.”

“But we’re friends, right? And friends are there for each other.” Daniel heard a movement behind him and saw Chris sleepily rub his eyes, he was still in his pyjamas. Daniel waved Chris good morning and the boy looked questioningly at him.

“Yeah, you’re right we’re friends, without a doubt. Why are so wise in your young years Daniel?” Daniel could hear Finn smiling through the phone.

“I dunno. I suppose I learned from the best, like you and Sean.

“Listen, I need to go. Oh, I wanted to thank you for your present. I didn’t think I would see Se…”

“No worries, buddy. It was always yours.” Finn interrupted quickly. “Call me again, will you?”

“I will, promise. Bye Finn.”

Chris had relocated to the kitchen in the meantime and stood there with a slice of toast in his hand. “Fnn wos the guy who sent ya Sean’s book?” he asked with a full mouth.

“Yes. I stayed with him before I came here. He was kind of a leader to the people we stayed with while working in California.

“Hey, are you okay? You seem a little on the edge.”

“Huh? Oh.” Chris put down the toast and looked out the window. “Listen, I saw something yesterday that frightened me.”

“What do you mean?”

“When I looked at your strings. There was a knot where you were really upset. And I mean _really_ upset.”

“You’re saying I’m gonna lose control.” It wasn’t a question, Daniel was sure he knew what Chris was talking about.

Chris nodded. “In this one case I believe I even know what causes it.”

“But then we can prevent it. We just leave the situation that leads to it out and we’ll be good.”

“No, we can’t”, Chris said sadly, “not without you – or me – leaving your grandparents house for good.”

“Now you are frightening me! What is it Chris? I don’t wanna leave for sure. And you can’t leave either.”

“I’m gonna put on some clothes and then we take a quick walk in the forest, ok? It’s the safest way.” Without waiting for an answer, Chris ran up the stairs.

A little later they were both walking into the woods behind the house. Daniel was nervous, again and again looking at Chris who had taken the lead. Knowing what was to come, but not how or why it would happen, already brought him to a level of anxiousness that made the black wolf stir in his sleep. After five or ten minutes, Chris stopped and sat down on a fallen tree. Daniel sat down as well, expectantly looking at his friend.

Chris took a deep breath. “Ok, here it goes. In every string we were talking before… you know.”

“We’re talking all the time. Why is it different this time?”

Chris studied Daniel for a moment. “What happened in Nevada? You know, Claire said that not every community is like the one in there. What happened?”

Daniel searched for the right words. Chris caught him totally unguarded but sooner or later he would learn of what had happened anyway, if he didn’t already know. Did he see even more than he was telling? Could he tell when Daniel was lying?

“Dany?” Chris had reached out and touched Daniels shoulder. Daniel brushed the hand off, like a spider. He realized that he was afraid of Chris’ powers at that moment. Was that how Claire felt around him? He sprung up and took some steps backwards, bringing some space between him and Chris. Only then he saw the hurt expression on Chris' face.

“Sorry Chris. I didn’t… Aaah shit. I’m sorry, ok? I’m afraid to tell you what happened on my journey. I’m afraid you might not like me anymore.”

“You’ll always be my best friend Dany.”

That calmed Daniel down a little. The story about the journey had been a trigger in the past. On the other hand, he told Claire the last day and nothing had happened. Something had to be different today, but he could not put his finger on it.

“Yesterday we talked about the journey to California and all and how we met Cass and Finn again.” Chris nodded, without interrupting Daniel.

“It was a quiet time there, but Sean became kinda distant. He always hung around with the others, drank alcohol or smoked weed. If it wasn’t for Finn I ‘d have been really lonely and I wished I had a friend my age. Someone I could talk to and play with. Up till then Sean and I were a team. But I wasn’t so sure anymore.” 

It still hurt thinking about how Sean treated him during that time. He could hear Chris walking up to him, looked up and Chris stopped where he was. Daniel could see how Chris wanted to help him, wanted to comfort him. But he didn’t approach further and Daniel cursed his reaction from before. Daniel quickly took a deep breath and continued. 

“I felt left out and did something really, really stupid and in the end Sean lost an eye because of it and I went to Haven Point with Jacob, one of the other people in the camp.” Daniel heard Chris suck the air in through his teeth, but again he stayed silent otherwise. 

“The people there thought my powers were granted by god and that I was an angel. The Reverend - Lisbeth - took an interest in me, trained me and taught the ‘meaning of the word of god’.”

“That sounds a bit like Claire - very strict and pious.” 

“Oh, Claire is by no means as bad as Lisbeth, believe me. I’m lucky Sean got me out of there, but I’m coming to that. 

“Anyway, I actually enjoyed being there, until Sean showed up. It was the first time I saw him since we ran from California. I’d thought he was dead but there he stood; one eyed, but alive.” Daniel looked up at Chris and saw his friend listening closely. Daniel moved a bit of dead leaves around with his foot. What followed for sure hadn’t been his finest hour. 

“I’d never been so happy and relieved in my life. But they said Sean just wanted to take me away and didn’t want to walk in the light of god. So he was kicked out, even though he’d only just got there.

“He came back a day or so later, with my mom. He found out that Lisbeth was a liar of the worst sort. She went to a doctor, even though she preached only prayer helps against illnesses. And she wanted to adopt me, but she never talked to me about it. I didn’t know what to believe anymore, but Lisbeth for sure didn’t wanna let me go. So, Sean got beat up, badly. Because some candles fell over, the church began to burn, but Sean stood up, trying to convince me to go with him, over and over again. Lisbeth ordered her… bodyguard to shoot Sean in the end, but that wasn’t going to happen, never.” 

Protecting Sean was something he’d never regret. Daniel took another quick note of Chris’ demeanor. He'd sat down on a tree stump, wide eyed and cross-armed. He attempted to say something more than once, but no sound came out in the end, so Daniel continued. 

“Sean is… was my brother, how could Lisbeth think I’d be ok with that? I knocked him out. But Lisbeth… she still didn’t want to let me go and locked the door to the church. I’d had enough. Sean was my family and he’d shown that he cared more for me than for his own health. She lied to me, wanted to use me and now she’d rather have us all die than let me go. I had to do something.

“I broke her neck, so that we could get out.” Daniel didn’t feel any remorse at Lisbeth’s death. In his eyes she had been evil. And again, Sean hadn’t stepped in, hadn’t told him what to do. With the fire all around a decision had to be made. But something kept him from looking at Chris. Instead, for the first time since his interrogation in San Diego, the big black wolf woke with young Daniel at his side and a warm breeze blew through the trees. It was too late to stop now. 

“The following weeks we stayed with mom. Sean needed to recover and it was really nice and quiet there. I’d imagined finding her and talking to her would be great and it was something I’d wanted to do as long as I could remember. But she was so different from the picture I had in my head. Sean didn’t forgive her for leaving us, he didn’t even hug her when we left. But I wanted to get to know her. She was always a bit distant though and I know she called me evil. When we left I was sad and glad at the same time. I don’t know what happened to her after. 

“We drove to Arizona and there was the wall. I nearly couldn’t do it but I broke through.” He was proud of it. Sean and he were free for some incredible moments. A better life had been directly there in front of them. “When we walked back to the car”, his voice lost a bit of it’s steadiness and he heard the low growl of the black wolf,” I was shot. I woke up in a police infirmary and Sean was gone, in fact there was nobody around. I wanted to look for Sean but the door was locked. I flipped out. I destroyed the door and searched for Sean, who was in an interrogation room. I don’t know what happened to the officers in the station. Some might have survived but I didn’t care if I hurt somebody or did worse. 

We drove to a border crossing. They’d set up a blockade and were waiting for us to step out of the car. Sean wanted to surrender, to give up and be separated. I didn’t want that to happen, couldn’t let that happen.So I made my own decision. We broke through the blockade, but Sean was shot... “ Daniel’s voice broke. He’d hoped he could tell the tale without tearing up, obviously that has been a mistake. “He died right there next to me and I couldn’t do anything. All my powers were useless. I got out of the car to… I don’t know. Get some fresh air? The police, they called me, tried to convince me to come back, to trust them. As if there was even the tiniest chance for that now. And they knew it. When I walked towards them I wanted to hurt them. Wanted them to feel the pain I felt. I hurled a couple of pebbles at them. There was a shot and ... everybody was dead afterwards.” With the end of the story the wind had picked up and the black wolf was standing there with bared teeth. Only now Daniel looked at Chris again. He’d told everything and there was no going back. The terrified look on Chris’s face, confirmed Daniel’s worst fears. 

“How could…Why…”, Chris babbled, trying to regain his composure. “How could you kill all those people!? How can you think this is ok!?”

Chris could just as well have hit Daniel straight in the face. “You said you wouldn’t hate me!”, 

It was the first time Daniel saw Chris lose his temper and he was shocked and frightened by it. “I heard about the border. It was all over the news last week. They said there was a Mexican cartel involved, but it was you! You murdered them all! They didn’t have any chance. They didn’t know!”

The black wolf leapt forward and the wind gained such force, that the trees and branches around them were groaning.

Chris had opened his mouth to say more, instead he looked around at the rustling leaves and the cracking branches.

The fear of hurting Chris, the fear of losing him as a friend but also the anger he felt – why had Chris said these things? Why did they have to do this now? – were pure fuel for the storm Daniel was unleashing. “They weren’t innocent! Every one of them tried to kill Sean. Every one of them wanted to separate us. Why doesn’t anybody get that?”

The ground began to shake while tears filled Daniel’s eyes. Chris' lips moved, but Daniel couldn’t understand the words over the howling of the wind. Chris stumbled towards him, trying to balance out the stronger and stronger tremors, fighting against the wind. Young Daniel was lying on the black wolf's back, trying to soothe the creature but Daniel knew he’d fail. 

“What are you doing? Run away, you know I can’t control this!”

Either Chris didn’t hear his words or he ignored them. He moved forward towards Daniel with a determined but also hurt look. Unexpectedly Daniel found himself in a tight hug and he could hear Chris’ voice as a barely audible sound over the cacophony around them.

“I don’t hate you, but I don’t understand. We’ve both lost people. We both know how that feels. I don’t get how you can do this to other people.”

Instantly, the big black wolf fell silent and ducked. The wind stopped; leaves floated to the floor, some old, dead ones, some green and fresh, torn away by the storm’s force.

Chris’ words resonated inside Daniel. Since Sean and he had fled from Seattle it always had been the two of them against the world. The police had chased them both for almost a year; wanted to lock Sean away for a long time. Merrill had betrayed them for their hard-earned money. And Lisbeth, well she was the worst of all. However, he never considered how the family of the people he’d killed would feel. He never thought about how anyone else felt until Finn convinced him to surrender at the diner, it had never crossed his mind that there might be another boy, just like him, whose mother or father was dead because of what _he_ did. 

“I… I never thought about that.” he stammered.

Chris let go and Daniel noticed absentmindedly how he had carefully avoided all skin contact. 

“You should’ve. A superhero has to consider the consequences of his deeds.” Chris smiled shyly. “I know you’re not evil. You were and still are my best friend Dany. Never doubt that for a second!”

Ashamed, Daniel looked to the ground. “I’ve let everyone down. You, Sean, grandma and grandad, mom… dad.” It was a fact, he knew it was. 

Sean’s voice echoed through his mind: _“Deciding who deserves to live and who doesn’t is an easy way to become a supervillain if you’re not careful Daniel. There may be people who deserve death but deciding who that is should not be the concern of a ten-year-old boy with superpowers.”_ Even after he had this dream at the border he wanted to charge head-on into another deadly fight. He had been so furious - still was - but there was something new now. The pain that Daniel had felt when he learned of his dad’s death, which had subsided over the months and been replaced by the agony he felt over Sean’s passing, was rekindled by Chris’ words and the thought of the pain he must have created. 

“I’m sorry”, he whispered, “Can I make this right again?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my beta readers [Bracco](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bracco), Aneroid and [Super_Wolf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Super_Wolf/pseuds/Super_Wolf)  
> If you like the story so far, please consider leaving kudos or even a comment.


	12. Friends

Chris laid an arm around Daniel’s shoulder. “Let’s go home.” As they walked side-by-side in silence, Daniel thought about what had happened during his journey.

_If we just stayed here, none of that would have happened. We got deeper and deeper into shit the longer Sean and I travelled. And now… did Sean want to surrender because he saw what we’d become, what I had turned into?_ And then a question dawned on him:

“Chris? How much of what I told you did you already know?”

“Only what you said at the dinner table. And a bit more from the news. It was the first time I heard about Haven Point.” 

“Soooo, you can’t look into the past?” 

“You think I would have let you - and me – go through all of that again if I’d known before?”

“No, no. That’s not what I meant. I thought maybe you can look back and… I don’t know--tell me if there was something I could’ve done differently and Sean would still be alive?”

“I don’t know if I can. But what good will that do, Dany? Even if you could’ve done something, it’s in the past. There’s no way to change what happened. It would just make you upset.”

“But what if Sean’s death was unavoidable? At least then I wouldn’t be responsible for that.”

Chris shook his head. “Don’t go there, Dany. I will not try it out.”

“But what should I do then? I feel so lost, Chris.”

Chris took Daniel’s hand while walking, and his powers activated. He only looked at Daniel though, ignoring everything else. “I remember a caring, kind person who saved my life--more than once. A person who became my best friend in no time. You are this person Dany. You just need to remember it too.” He let the hand go.

“So much has changed since then. How can I go back to being that person?”

“Just remember the superhero you want to be. You are Superwolf, Captain Spirit’s second in command, protector of good and slayer of evil.”

“But I lost my powers. How am I supposed to help Captain Spirit in his fight?”

“You didn’t lose your powers. You’re just not in control of them at the moment. I know I didn’t see you using your powers again without something going wrong, but this is only for the next month, tops. I don’t know what’ll happen after that. But I’m positive you’ll get your powers back. Look at it as a test. When you’ve proven yourself, you’ll be able to use your powers once more.”

Daniel looked at his hands. They had protected and destroyed, and before he had his powers he used them to draw, play and write. How would it feel to be ‘normal’ again? For all his talk and thinking about how he didn’t want his powers anymore, that he only hurt people with them, not being able to rely on them anymore was frightening.

He reached out with his left hand towards a small stone on the forest floor. He could feel the power course through him but it wasn’t the malleable force that had accompanied him for a long time. It was stubborn and memories of how Sean laid there in the shards and rubble of Merrill’s farm filled his mind immediately.

He felt Chris’s hand on his back.. “Don’t,” Chris said. “Believe me, it’s not worth it.”

Daniel lowered his hand and head: “I don’t know how to be without my powers anymore. I could use them out of reflex, and then . . . ?”

“You were without powers for far longer than the other way ‘round. Knowing you, you did quite fine back then.”

“Maybe, but in the end, there was always Sean to pull me out of trouble.”

“Now you have me. I’ll keep an eye on you so you don’t even get into trouble in the first place.”

Daniel looked at Chris. Chris grinned, and it lightened his mood a little.

_It’s true. I lived without powers for so long. It shouldn’t be too hard to get back to normal, right? And I’ve had friends – oh shit, Noah and Lyla. They don’t know what happened. They sure as hell worry._

“I just remembered friends from back in Seattle. They haven’t heard from me or Sean in months. I need to call them or write or something.”

“You have the phone number?”

“No, I don’t think so. Maybe Lyla’s is in Sean’s journal. I’ll have to find out Noah’s number somehow though.”

“You wanna do this right now? Should I take a look if it’s a good idea?”

“I want to see if I can find Lyla’s number. I can talk to Noah on the Playbox. And no, I’d like you to be there, but I wanna do this. I don’t want to hear it’s a bad idea.”

“I understand that. You don’t have to worry you know. I’m not gonna look at it if you don’t want me to.”

“I’m not worried”, Daniel assured quickly, “not really at least. I just saw you look at the strings yesterday and you changed from one to the other so quickly. You seemed to ‘read’ them so fast… I don’t think you’d look on purpose…”

“I’m already ignoring the strings around you anyway. It’s not so different. If I focus on the person, I don’t see anything.”

They arrived back at the house; Claire and Stephen had not returned yet. Daniel and Chris headed upstairs; Daniel sat on his bed, the old one – the new hadn’t been delivered yet, with the sketchbook in his lap. If Lyla’s number was in there, it would be somewhere on the earlier pages. But Daniel wasn’t too hopeful, Sean had known Lyla’s number by heart.

“Can I look at what you have in your backpack? I want to know what you had with you on your travels,” Chris chimed in.

“Sure, go ahead.”

Some minutes passed in which Daniel searched for numbers and Chris rummaged through Daniel’s belongings. “What’s this?” Chris was holding up the canine tooth shaped stone Daniel had carried with him since Mexico but hadn’t thought about till now. All around Chris lay Daniel’s belongings. It really wasn’t much, Daniel had to admit. 

Daniel reached out with his powers to let the stone fragment float to him but stopped just in time. It would be difficult shutting down and not using the powers anymore. He stretched out his open palm and Chris placed the stone tooth gingerly in it.

“I took this stone from Mexico. It’s from Sean’s grave.” He’d completely forgotten about that little piece. Interestingly, it didn’t make him sad, but it gave him the feeling Sean was around, still protecting him.“ A last piece to remember him by. I thought I could maybe make a pendant out of it.”

“That’s a cool idea! I’m sure Stephen can help you with that.” After a short moment of silence, Chris inquired: “So, have you found the number you were looking for?”

Daniel looked down at the page he had opened. “Yes, I have.”

“Hello, this is Lyla Park.”

Hearing Lyla’s sad voice made Daniel question his decision and he nearly hung up again. This was so hard. What should he tell her?

“Hello?”

“Hey, Lyla.” 

Daniel heard Lyla suck the air in sharply. “Daniel? Is that really you?” There was an unmistakable quiver in her voice.

“Yes, it is. I wanted to let you know I’m ok, so that you don’t have to worry.”

“I was worried for ten months! Sean called me two times during that time, two times! I was worried sick about you. And then I hear from the news that Sean was shot at the border and…” she broke down in heart-breaking sobs and Daniel could feel tears filling his eyes as well. He could hear another voice at the other end of the line talking in a foreign language to Lyla, probably her mother. 

“Sorry. I’m a mess since I learned of – that. But also, what they said about Sean. It’s not true is it? My best friend is not a mass murderer, is he?”

“NO, of course not! He never hurt anybody.”

“I knew it. Lying bastards--all of them! Sorry, I shouldn’t swear like that. Momster’d kill me if she heard that. How are you holding up?”

“I’m getting better. I live with my grandparents now and I have a foster brother who is really cool.” Chris beamed at him from behind the comic he was reading. “I have nightmares”, he added in a quieter voice.

“I hear you. I haven’t slept in days. Almost at least. How… How could this happen Daniel?”

“I…”, _oh this is gonna be fun. What shall I tell her? The truth? No, not like that, not over the phone. Should I lie?_ “It was my fault. I insisted that we break through the blockade and Sean protected me.”

“It’s not your fault Daniel! None of this should have happened in the first place. Your dad should still be alive and you should live here and…”, again Daniel could hear her sobbing.

“Maybe calling you was a bad idea. I’m sorry.”

“No, no”, she sniffed, “I’m glad you called and are OK. I just really miss Sean and the past weeks and months have been terrible without him. And now…”, she made a noticeable effort to steady herself. “I’m not in the best condition right now and you are like a voice from beyond the grave. Nobody knew where you were or if you were even still alive. Knowing you are already makes things easier. But knowing Sean won’t ever come back…” She breathed in deeply. “I’m glad you called. Once I feel better you have to tell me what happened. I don’t think I can manage that yet.”

“Uhm, yeah, sure. I hope you get better soon Lyla. And I’m sorry.” _For killing Sean, for being the reason why we had to run away and for making you cry._

“Thank you, Daniel. But there is nothing you have to feel sorry about. Except maybe for not calling me earlier to let me know you’re OK.” Daniel heard a single laugh.

“Sorry I didn’t think about it earlier. I needed my friend Chris to remind me that I should call you. I’ve been kinda not myself the last few weeks.”

“Oh, yes, yes of course. I didn’t mean to imply… You went through way more than I did. See now I’m feeling petty.

“Daniel, listen, it’s nice hearing from you, but I think it’s better we talk again when we’ve accommodated a bit more to – this.”

“Sh-, sure.”

“Stay safe. Byyyee”

“Thanks, you too. Bye.”

After Daniel ended the call, he just sat there. This had been more difficult than expected. _Could I have done something differently to make it easier?_

“How did it go?” Chris looked up from his comic.

“So-so. She is really angry and sad, just like me. She wants to know what happened but isn’t ready for it yet. I’m not sure I can tell her.”

“Just be honest.”

Daniel nodded in agreement. “I will.”

Only minutes after he’d finished talking to Lyla, Stephen and Claire returned and the smell of food cooking was filling the house after a short while. During lunch Claire was talking about how nice the church service had been. It was so clear what she intended that Daniel nearly rolled his eyes. The talk with Chris had shaken him, but he was not yet ready to commit to visiting church.

“What are your plans for the afternoon?” Stephen interjected at one point, speaking to no specific person.

“I wanted to ask you if you could help me work on something”, Daniel started and Chris quickly followed up with an eagerness that showed this had been on his mind since quite some time:

“And maybe we can repair the ladder to the Flying Fortress? The Spirit Squad needs a functioning headquarters.”

“The Spirit Squad, hm?” Stephen and Claire smiled at each other. “It depends a bit what you want to do Daniel, but I think we can do both. But tell us more about the Spirit Squad.”

“The Spirit Squad is a group of superheroes whose main goal is to bring down Mantroid and his evil minions. I’m Captain Spirit, the leader of the squad, and Daniel is Superwolf, my right-hand man.”

At the word ‘superhero’ Claire looked sharply at Daniel.

“What? I’m not gonna use my power. It’s just a game. Chill out.” Daniel looked defiantly at Claire. 

The way Chris sucked in the air told Daniel immediately that he made a mistake, but the words were already spoken.

“You will not talk to me in that tone Daniel! You’ve been on the road for a long time, which is why I’m letting this slip. But if you don’t pick up your manners immediately, I’ll ground you and you will stay in your room for a week. Understood?” 

Daniel nodded meekly. “Sorry.”

As fast as Claire’s temper heated up, it cooled down again. “Well then. Go and do what you’ve planned and I will prepare a little treat for you two. ”

* * *

The afternoon was spent polishing the stone fragment, drilling a hole in it, and searching for something that could serve as a necklace.. They didn’t have much luck, so Stephen said he’d pick up something from a goldsmith the following week. Until then, Daniel placed the now nearly sparkling tooth in a small, cushioned box that he received from Claire. 

Later, they were looking for a piece of wood which could be used as a replacement for the broken step to the Fortress. Daniel and Chris checked the other ones while replacing the old broken step. In the end they renewed all the planks, just to be safe. In the early evening, the path to the Flying Fortress was restored and the two superheroes could enter their hideout safely once more. It was the first time Daniel entered the treehouse and Chris showed him all the secret things he had hidden there. Daniel loved it, it was nice and quiet, a place where one could rest and talk without the fear of being overheard or seen.

They didn’t stay long in the tree house though. Claire called them for some freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and after they’d savoured the snack, Chris and Daniel booted up the Playbox. Daniel logged in to his account to check if Noah was online – which he was. He opened the chat.

Hey Noah

Daniel! Are you ok?

I missed you

It’s been such a long time

You just disappeared

Yes. Sry I couldn’t talk to you earlier

I missed you too

I wanted to write about two weeks ago, but it wasn’t the right time

It’s ok. My parents don’t want us to talk anyway.

They say Sean killed people and you are a bad influence

Sean didn’t kill anyone

I didn’t believe it

Where are you now?

I’m living with my grandparents

Oh, ok. Will you come back eventually?

Dunno. Not soon for sure

Too bad. It’s boring without you in school.

Wanna play Minecraft sometimes? I wanna show you what I did with our castle

It’s still up??

Ofc, why not?

Doesn’t matter.

Super cool you continued!

It wasn’t the same without you

But it’s become quite epic

Looking forward to seeing it

Noice. Cu soon then, perhaps tomorrow?

Don’t know when I can make it

Ok, just message me here

Will do, cu

CU

Chris had been sitting at his desk, drawing. When Daniel laid back after his ‘talk’ with Noah he asked if everything was ok.

“I don’t know. Noah seems fine but his parents don’t want him to talk to me.”

“That’s so sh…allow of them. Hi Claire.”

Claire had appeared rather suddenly and raised an eyebrow at Chris, but otherwise ignored the remark. “You two wanna play a boardgame with us?”

Daniel remembered the board games they played half a year ago, they had been fun in the beginning, but became boring rather fast. Then again, why not? It would be good spending some time with his grandparents.

After the game it was bedtime – according to Claire. Daniel waited a bit and then began reading some Aweso comics Chris had given him. He snuck out into the hallway to have some decent lighting and waited for Stephen and Claire to get ready for bed.

This time Chris was still awake when he snuck over.

“Hey, Dany. I was thinking about what you told me today.” Chris seemed to feel how Daniel tensed up. “You don’t need to worry. I don’t wanna talk about what you did. But Claire and Stephen are right. The parish here is different from the one in Nevada. And nobody here knows about your powers. Maybe it would be good to see that there are good, normal people out there.”

“I’m not sure. But if you think it’s worth it maybe I’ll try.”

Daniel laid awake for quite some time after that, thinking about what Chris had said until finally he fell asleep.

* * *

The car stood in the wasteland, no more than 150 ft away from the wall and Daniel. In the dirty light he saw that he was surrounded by people - no that wasn’t the correct term. These were just bodies, featureless for the most part. No hair and no face, just naked skin and a black, bloody hole where the mouth should be. Behind them Daniel could see spectres in different shapes and forms standing in a second, larger circle. They were more human looking but nearly translucent. Only the unnervingly blue eyes seemed solid enough and they were all watching him with disdain, unblinkingly. 

One of the bodies jerked his hand up, accusingly pointing at Daniel.

“You killed me!” it said with a raspy voice that sent shivers down Daniel’s spine. A hole appeared in its temple, blood flowed out and it collapsed.

“You killed me!” the next one shouted in a deep, reverberating voice and it’s head was smashed in by an invisible force.

On and on it went. Some of the bodies were decapitated, some lost legs; one was cut into two halves--it had a female voice. Daniel wanted to shut his eyes and cover his ears but he couldn’t. His arms were locked into place and he couldn’t even blink. He turned to every corpse that was putting blame on him and there was nothing he could do.

_No, I didn’t want this. Please._

Once he caught a glimpse of a small boy, standing even behind the second circle of spectres with an outstretched hand and eerily intense looking amber eyes. When he tried to focus on him and yell out for help, the boy wasn’t there anymore but the slow merciless turning continued and Daniel lost all hope. There would really be no escape. 

Then came the last of the corpses and Daniel immediately recognized this voice. 

“This is all your fault! You killed me!” Sean’s voice screamed and Daniel broke. He stopped fighting and in his head became completely empty except for this one thought: _It’s all my fault._

When Sean laid on the ground the spectres came closer and a wailing began that even chased away this thought. Where the Sean-body dropped the small boy stood and Daniel could see the younger version of himself, kneeling beside the corpse. 

“Please, help me.” Daniel tried to address his younger self, but it only watched him with the amber eyes. He tried to activate his powers, but they were not there and he started to panic. He tried to shout, to yell, fought stronger and stronger against the invisible shackles but to no avail.

* * *

He woke up on the floor, Chris fearfully looking down from the bed, Claire standing in the door frame with a look like she would explode any second now. 

“Daniel why aren’t you in your bed?”

Daniel couldn’t answer. He’d curled up into a ball, shaking from fear, and crying.

Claire’s demeanour changed promptly. With three quick steps she closed the gap, kneeled down and embraced him, rocking slightly back and forth.

“Shhh, Shhh. It’s ok. It was just a dream.” 

Once Daniel had calmed down a little, she looked up at Chris. “You have some explaining to do.”

“Daniel had a nightmare the first night, he told you he used his powers in it and whirled some stuff around and we were afraid that that might happen again and thought you might not believe us or don’t think it serious enough so we thought if he sleeps here I could help and…” The words poured just out of Chris.

“Slowly, slowly Chris. I only understand about half of what you’re saying. Did his powers activate today as well?”

“No, but I wasn’t able to wake him and then he fell out of the bed.”

“Good. Come here honey.” She let Daniel lie against the bed frame. “I’ll make you a cup of warm milk, that will help you sleep. We’ll talk tomorrow about all of this. I suppose for tonight you can stay here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my beta readers [Bracco](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bracco), Aneroid and [Super_Wolf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Super_Wolf/pseuds/Super_Wolf)  
> In this special case a thank you also goes to [RoodAwakening](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoodAwakening/pseuds/RoodAwakening) who imporved the grammar of this chapter significantly.
> 
> If you like the story so far, please consider leaving kudos or even a comment.


	13. Truths

Claire woke Chris and Daniel up early the next morning. When the two went downstairs Claire and Stephen had already finished their breakfast and were waiting for them. “I’m sorry we had to wake you that early, but we have the meeting with the principal at nine and we wanted to talk about what happened last night before we leave. But first things first; enjoy your meal.” Claire placed a plate with some fried eggs and bacon in front of them. Although she didn’t seem mad or in a particular bad mood, Daniel felt uneasy, after all they broke one of her precious rules. The boys ate their meal quietly, waiting for the ‘talk’ to start. 

When they’d finished, Claire inhaled deeply and began: “We are not... happy about you sleeping in the same room, not at all. It was clear that I agreed to a sleepover only for the first night. But I understand that there are mitigating circumstances here and that you’ve been in a difficult position. However, you should have come and talked with us. Especially when Daniel’s powers are involved.”

“I didn’t want you to think I was dangerous. It’s hard enough as it is”, Daniel spoke without thinking.

“I don’t understand. You’ll have to explain that, Daniel.” 

_ Shit. Should have considered that before. Ok, here we go. _

“I can’t use my powers at the moment.”

“What are you saying? You used them two times at least since you got here,” she looked at him with an intense gaze, as though she wanted to read Daniel’s mind and see if he’d used them even more. He tried to keep his face calm. She didn’t need to know about yesterday.

“Yes, but I don’t have real control over them. I can activate them, but they don’t do exactly what I want. You saw that with the door.”

“This is serious Daniel. Very serious. You should have told us right away!”

“I couldn’t. You already said you’re frightened by my powers, and that was when you thought I could control them. I thought you… I don’t know; maybe you’d send me away or something.”

Claire and Stephen shared a quick look, then Claire reached out and patted Daniel’s hand. Chris, meanwhile - and similarly Stephen, sat at the sidelines, quite glad they weren’t involved in this discussion. Chris in particular was very interested in the last crumbs of toast on his plate.

“We never thought we’d raise children again, after… your mother moved out. But we couldn’t let Chris be swallowed by the system, how could we do that to you? You are our grandson and we love you and this changes nothing about that. We never imagined it would be easy but we are not sending you away, Daniel. It’s just something we have to figure out.

“Chris said last night that you’d used your powers in your sleep . Did this happen before?”

“I don’t know. I dreamt of using my powers before but…”

“But? Daniel, this is no time for secrets or half truths.”

“The dream during the first night was so real. It was as if I could touch everything there. And… and there was Sean, dying and again there was nothing I could…” He stopped before his voice cracked; the dream seemed more real than the things that truly happened at the border.

“I’m so sorry, Honey. I know this is hard on you.” She seemed unsure how to proceed. In the end she turned to Chris. “Did you wake up right away, when he started using his powers?”

Chris nodded. “I was awake just before it started. Dany was talking in his sleep and that woke me up.”

“What about last night?”

“Last night was kinda worse, but he didn’t use his powers. He just thrashed around and screamed. But I couldn’t understand what he said.”

“Hm, I see. Do you often have nightmares, sweetie?”

“I think I do, but I don’t remember them, normally. They seem to get worse though. Last night, I was at the border again and there were…”, he couldn’t begin to describe the horror he’d felt. Daniels' mouth hung open but no more sound came out. After he tried unsuccessfully he closed his mouth and stared at his hands.

“It’s ok, Daniel. Don’t think about that anymore.” Claire took his hands into hers. “Stephen and I will have to talk about all that. The solution can definitely  _ not _ be you sleeping in Chris’ bed all the time. However, we have to go now. I hope the meeting with the principal doesn’t take too long. Do something fun in the meantime.”

* * *

“What do you think they’re gonna do?”, Daniel asked after his grandparents left.

Chris shrugged: “No idea. They believe us, I think. Maybe it was a mistake not to trust them in the first place.”

“They would never have believed us before. You heard her the first morning. She thought I was lying.” Daniel furrowed his brow a little. Sometimes Chris seemed too innocent for this world. But then again, Chris had his own heavy burden to carry.

“Maybe you’re right. But we could have gone through with our plan even if we told them.”

“They would have checked for sure. Claire’s very fond of her rules. You’re such a goodie-two-shoes that you probably don’t have a lot of problems following them. I, on the other hand…” Daniel grinned at Chris. “I’m a bad influence on you.”

“I don’t believe that one second. But anyway, what do you wanna do until they come back?”

“I think I wanna try drawing. Sean always seemed so calm and focused when he did it. Maybe it can help me as well?”

“Ok, cool. I’m gonna plan our big adventure.”

Sean had made drawing look easy, so Daniel was rather disappointed by his first attempts. These were just scribbles and nothing looked like it should. How many hours did Sean practice until he was that good? By the time Stephen and Claire returned he had produced nothing worth showing. He was not sure if drawing was really a hobby for him. 

Daniel could smell Claire brewing coffee and only a little later Chris and Daniel were called into the living room. In front of each of his grandparents stood a cup of the steaming hot brown liquid. Sitting down, Daniel inquired if he could have a cup too. Claire furrowed her brows, but she went into the kitchen and prepared another cup. Before she returned she asked Chris if he wanted one too, but he shook his head.

When he held the coffee in his hands, Daniel closed his eyes, sniffed at it and was reminded of the mornings in the Redwood forest of Humboldt county. The soft light shining through the high trees, the drifters waking up, doing their morning routine, Sean oversleeping. Daniel smiled softly at that.

“Listen, boys, we discussed what you told us this morning and we reached a decision. Until you are better, Daniel, we think it’s best you two have a shared bedroom and a room where you can work and play. We’ll have to move some furniture around, but this is probably the best way to deal with this situation, as long as Chris is OK with it. But you have to promise that you talk to us when you have a bad dream, especially if you use your powers within it.”

Daniel and Chris looked at each other, smiling. “Awesome possum.”

“You heard what I said about talking to us, Daniel?”

“Yeah. Always talk to you about it.”

Claire eyed him suspiciously, not quite pleased with the flippant tone. “On another note, you’ll be entering Beaver Creek Elementary. But because you missed most of last year, you’ll have some catching up to do. We brought some home exercises and material you’ll have to work through.”

“Wait, what? But it’s summer!”

“Daniel, we are lucky that you don’t have to repeat the last year. I don’t doubt you learned a lot over the course of the last ten months, but it’s not what they’ll ask in school. If you don’t catch up, you’ll have to repeat nonetheless. I don’t think you want that.”

“And why would I care about that?” Daniel realized from Claire’s look, one that could make hell freeze over, that she didn’t appreciate his pouty-ness. 

“Well, first of all,  _ we _ care. Secondly, what would you do otherwise? And last but not least you wouldn’t be in the same class as Chris anymore.” A thin smile scurried over her face.

Hearing that, Daniel sat up straight, his bad mood over the homework blown away. “Did you know about this, Chris?”

Chris shook his head. “No, I didn’t. But the school isn’t very big...”

“We argued that it would be good for you to have a familiar face around after all you went through.” Stephen said between two sips of coffee. “The principal needed a little bit convincing, but she was very open to our point of view.”

“That’s rad. But it sucks that I have to do homework in the summer break.”

Claire glared at him: “We really have to set up a swear-jar.”

Daniel had to suppress a grin. This was – for some reason – perfect; this sense of normality made him happier than he could’ve imagined.

* * *

On Friday evening Chris and Daniel laid in the flying fortress side by side. Daniel had his eyes closed most of the time, only rarely he looked up in the blue, cloudless sky. He was exhausted from the week and reminisced about it in the warm summer breeze he felt on his skin.

A little earlier in the week they’d rearranged their bedrooms, the new furniture had been delivered and the door repaired.

Daniel was a little sorry for Chris. Although the nightmares he’d had weren’t as real as the first one or as frightening as the second, Chris needed to wake Daniel up two more times within the week. Daniel was fairly sure that it took a toll on him, but Chris said he was fine and refused to talk more about it. 

And then there were the exercises from school. The amount of homework Claire and Stephen had brought home seemed insurmountable. Even now that he’d worked on it for a week, with the occasional help of Stephen and Chris, the progress he made seemed minimal. At least he had the time in the evening to do something else. It was not that he resented catching up, not anymore. It had been such a long time that he did normal school stuff that he didn’t really mind and even less so, since he wanted to stay in the same class as Chris.

_ Chris helped me a lot with the homework. But he certainly has changed since I got here. I guess this happens when you get superpowers. And Chris’ powers in particular. What would it be like to touch someone and see everything? I guess it would make me quite upset, especially if I can’t tell anyone. I don’t think I’ve become so serious since I have  _ **_my_ ** _ powers, have I? Maybe. It’s a bit sad to see Chris like that almost all the time. It’s still fun being around him, but so different. Did anyone else notice? Maybe they all thought it was because of his dad. Hm, I never heard him talk about other friends. _

“Chris? How is school, how are the other children there? Tell me about your friends.”

Chris was silent for a while and Daniel thought maybe he’d fallen asleep. It was nice, warm, and quiet up here so he wouldn’t have been surprised.

“The teachers are ok, I guess.” Daniel turned his head. Chris hadn’t moved and was just starring into the sky, hands crossed behind his back and feet dangling outside the treehouse as his own did. “I’ve never gotten into trouble…”

“What? Never? You’re a worse goodie-two-shoes than I thought. What do you do to have fun around school then?”

Chris guffawed . “You don’t need to get into trouble to have fun, you know.  _ You _ were a troublemaker even before you came here, weren’t you.” He stopped as soon as the words had left his mouth, eyes wide. “Shit, sorry Dany. I didn’t mean it like that.”

Daniel sat up, an image of him and Sean in a demolished motel room flashed up in his head. “Fuck you, dude.”

“Dany, I’m sorry. Really.”

“Whatever. I’m gonna play or draw or something. Inside.” Daniel crawled to the ladder.

“Dany wait, please. There just was _no one_ to get in trouble with”, Chris blurted out.

Daniel turned his head towards Chris, who was now sitting up too. He was pleadingly looking at Daniel and Daniel could see his eyes getting watery.

“What are you saying?”

“You are my best friend. But you are also my only real friend.”

Daniel turned around and leaned against a tree.

“I mean, you are a weirdo, but that’s hard to believe.”

He saw Chris flinching and Daniel felt guilty. He probably had heard this before.

“It was ok in the first years, when mom was still alive. But then she died and I was only the kid with the dead parent. And after dad died…

“There was one boy, Hal, who I used to hang out with sometimes, but since… then, we nearly haven’t talked. We weren’t in the same class and he’d rather read books than go on any adventures. So yes, there just was nobody to do something stupid with.”

Chris sounded angry towards the end and he looked defiantly at Daniel.

“He sounds boring.”

“I like reading too. Am I boring as well?”

_ Oh this is going great. Glad I asked. _

“I never said that. You are cool, which is why I don’t understand why you don’t have any more friends.

“Also, now you have me around. You should at least do something that could get you in trouble once.”

The expression on Chris' face softened a little. “I’m not cool. I  _ am _ a weirdo, now even more than before.”

Daniel skidded over the short distance between them and kneeled in front of Chris. “I shouldn’t have said that. But even if that were true it doesn’t mean you’re not cool.”

Chris grinned at him. “I never had somebody to share it with, but I’ve gotten into trouble at home. I blew up some stuff with firecrackers. Dad was really mad and took them away.” Chris rubbed his right arm as if remembering something.

“You still have some of them? Blowing up stuff sounds like loads of fun.”

“I used the last ones just before you arrived in winter, to blow up Snowmancer.”

“Shoot. Well, how did you get them last time?”

“Dad bought them for the 4 th of July. I’m pretty sure we can’t ask Stephen or Claire though.”

Daniel giggled. “No, that would probably not be the best idea. Well, we’ll think of something.

“C’mon let’s go inside. It’s nearly dinner time, maybe Claire needs our help.”

“You’re on the way to becoming a goodie-two-shoes yourself.”

“Hahaha. No, never.” 

Chris grinned, “Yeah, probably not.” Then he climbed down the tree and together they ran to the back-yard entrance of their home. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, one last chapter before Christmas. I apologize for the delay.  
> I wish you all happy holidays and a good new year. I will continue writing but it might take more than two weeks until the next chapter. However, I hope to get back to a more regular schedule in the new year.  
> Thank you for acompanying Daniel (and later Chris) on this journey. 
> 
> A big thanks to my beta readers [Bracco](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bracco), Aneroid and [Super_Wolf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Super_Wolf/pseuds/Super_Wolf)  
> 


	14. Service

“Daniel, we’re waiting for you!” Claire shouted. Daniel once again looked into the mirror, he did not necessarily like what he saw. His whole attire reminded him too much of Haven Point; only the ugly haircut was missing, but it was getting long again. Claire already said that he needed to go to a hairdresser the next week. As long as she wasn’t dictating the haircut he’d get, that was alright.

_Ok, let’s get this over with._

Claire was impatiently waiting at the entrance, while Chris and Stephen already sat in the car.

“About time. We’re going to be late if we don’t hurry now.” 

“Sorry. I got distracted.” Daniel replied, while he put his shoes on.

The drive to church took about ten minutes in which Daniel mainly looked out the window. He was not sure what to expect, but he didn’t feel too good about it. Chris had suggested looking at his futures yesterday, but they were none the wiser. There was too much going on and Chris, for the first time, hadn’t been able to interpret the strings.

_Probably not the best sign._

The church was a large building, constructed from huge grey stone blocks. Daniel had the feeling it was looming over him, looking disapprovingly. He got out of the car, and looked uneasily at the people that were gathered around in front of the church portal. There were so many walking into the building, it seemed that it would be rather crowded. 

Chris appeared on Daniel’s side.“C’mon Dany. You ok?”

Daniel pressed his lips together and nodded.

_Nothing new here. This is just a building with people gathering for a service. Nobody knows what I can do and nobody from Haven Point is here. Lisbeth is dead and can’t reach me anymore._

He took a deep breath and followed just a step behind Chris, with Claire and Stephen in tow. Approaching the building, Daniel’s grandparents and Chris were greeted by several people and some words were exchanged. Daniel could hear “…so this must be your grandson. Poor kid...” He decided not to listen, he didn’t want these people’s pity. Taking the step through the church portal he entered the small foyer. It looked frighteningly like the one in Haven Point. There was a donation box and a magazine stand with a multitude of flyers and brochures. He could see the flyer for the field trip Claire was mentioning when he arrived in Beaver Creek. He still didn’t wanna go, but there didn’t seem enough time for it anyway.

Quickly Daniel walked to the other door and entered the church proper. As expected, there were already a bunch of people sitting in the pews, some were quietly whispering, others seemed to pray. Stephen and Claire entered behind him and headed to an unoccupied space in the front rows. Daniel had the feeling that they always sat there, why else would this space not be taken when any other place in the front was occupied.

Sitting down, he was wedged between Claire and Chris and, for the first time, he looked directly towards the choir room. Everything about it made Daniel uneasy, beginning by the altar and the candles burning on it to the cross with the crucified looking down on the gathered people. Quickly he looked down and closed his eyes, everybody would think he was praying..

The smoke of the candles filled his nostrils.

_Candles floating in front of him, slowly turning. A sense of pride filling him. The control needed for this was huge…_

_'o, I’m in Beaver Creek._

_Lord, please take these memories away. Help me overcome my nightmares, even if it means you take my powers away. Help me in making new friends and let all the bad things be behind me. I hope Sean and Dad have found you and are safe._

When he opened his eyes, nobody was paying particular attention to him. Claire and Stephen had their eyes closed in silent prayer and Chris was looking around, taking note of the present people. He nodded to a girl some rows behind them and smiled.

“Who is that?”, Daniel inquired curiously.

Chris turned towards him and whispered: “Oh, that’s Maya. She goes to our school and is one of the few people who talks to me. She’s nice.”

Daniel took a closer look at the girl. She had blond wavy hair and a round, friendly face. At her side sat a woman with the same blonde hair, most likely her mother then.

He let his gaze glide over the crowd and felt a wave of relief wash over him; nobody seemed to take a special interest in him. But, even though no one here knew what he was capable of, he felt anxious. So much reminded him of Haven Point.

Naturally, there were slight differences, but the general atmosphere and progression of events were the same. Everything began with begging for forgiveness and a song. Then came the reading from the Revelation, a passage Daniel only knew too well.

“Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent”, the Deacon read.

Daniel’s vision blurred and he could hear Lisbeth’s voice: _“So that’s your final decision. May god have mercy on your lost soul…”_

_No, not this._ He pressed his eyes shut, but he could feel the black wolf stir and growl.

Again, the biting smoke of candles filled his nose and he saw the burning altar cloth.

_This is not right._ Opening his eyes again, he was in the church in Beaver Creek, but he still heard Lisbeth’s voice and smelled the fire.

_“See what you have done!”_

Another voice joined Lisbeth’s. _“I said stop.”_ Nicholas.

He heard Sean’s groan as his brother was pushed onto the floor. Or had been pushed? Present and past blended together.

_“He can hit me as much as he wants, I won’t give up on you.”_

Another groan. And then Daniel heard his own voice, but was he talking or was it just in his head?

_“Don’t hit him!”_ and the wolf fully awoke. He felt his powers building up. Knew what was coming, but where was he?

He heard people singing around him, but there was also the crackling of flames.

_“Shut him up!”_ he heard Lisbeth’s voice, clear as a bell.

_No, not again. Sean won’t be beaten because of her again._

_Again? Why again?_

_This isn’t real. I’m in Beaver Creek, sitting on a pew._

Daniel felt his fingernails dig into the wood. But he also felt his powers course through him. There was not much time.

_“DO IT! SHOOT!”_ shouted Lisbeth.

And then his own voice, but definitely not in his head and only whispering: “Stop! Chris, help!” He felt the touch of another hand on his, heard somebody whisper over him and tug at his T-Shirt.

And then he heard the crack of Lisbeth’s neck breaking, saw her lifeless body flung to the side and felt the power leave his body in one single enormous wave.

It was different than the times before. There was no slow build up of a storm from his powers, no warning for anybody around him, just this single, enormous outburst.

The earth leapt up. All the windows shattered. The singing turned into screams of confusion and terror in an instant.

With the power leaving his body, Daniel found himself firmly placed in the present again. He felt Chris tugging at him, noted the cracks in the wall and the fine dust drizzling down from the ceiling; saw the big cross in the altar room hanging in a weird angle, before it came crashing down. He stepped out of the pew and looked back. Claire and Stephen were standing there, looking around in disbelief with wide open mouths. 

“Grandma, come. We need to go.” Slowly they moved, like in a trance. 

Daniel didn’t dare to hold the power back anymore and directed it into the earth. It was only very little in comparison to before and there was a hardly noticeable tremor, but then the earth itself began to shake, as if it was responding to Daniel’s powers. It was not much at first, but panic rose in him. 

Another temor, stronger and more persistent. _What’s happening? That’s not me!_

Everybody was moving now. Daniel’s grandparents were walking like zombies, grabbing each other’s hand. They were so slow and the shaking earth didn’t make walking any easier. He made a move to take Claire’s hand, but the wolf was still howling in his mind. Instead he grabbed his head with both hands and stood still for a moment. 

_Stop it. Haven’t you done enough?_

Someone touched him at his shoulder and through all the chaos and over the screams he could barely hear Chris’ voice. When Daniel looked at his friend, Chris gestured upwards with one hand and Daniel finally understood the word: “Shield.” 

A quick look to the ceiling showed him visible cracks. He didn’t care anymore if someone saw him. He pointed one hand up and formed a barrier, similar to the one at the border and covered as many people as he could with it. Maybe like that he could save some people from the debris that was beginning to drop down from the ceiling. 

There was no finesse in this. It was just a thin wall between the people and the falling pieces, not uniform, not strong, but sufficient. 

And while Daniel held his precarious control over the shield, Chris had grabbed his lower arm and was leading him to the exit. Claire and Stephen, however, had disappeared in the panicking horde. He wanted to go and look for them, but the continued shaking of the earth and him using his powers had him nearly panicked as well, so he followed Chris - without fighting. 

_Please let them be ok._

###

The wolf fell silent as soon as Daniel stepped out of the foyer into the sun and the shield collapsed. He wanted to stop running, drop to his knees and vomit, but Chris was pulling him further along, through the first ring of people that had turned around and watched the church, now that they seemingly were safe.

The ground hadn’t settled though and the continued quakes soon after lead to an immense roar, as part of the building collapsed and sent the onlookers scrambling. 

A bit further away, Chris let Daniel sit down and lean against a tree.

“Fuck.” This word out of Chris’ mouth summed the situation up perfectly Daniel thought, then he leaned to the side and let the fried egg he had for breakfast come back up again. 

Chris’ head was swivelling around, side-to-side. “Where are Stephen and Claire? Have you seen them since we came out?”

Daniel barely managed to shake his head. He was dizzy and exhausted and he was not sure if the ground was still moving or if it was his imagination. 

Chris kneeled down quickly. “Stay here. I’m gonna look for them. They have to be somewhere.” His voice was shaky. Daniel wanted to say No, that they would search together, but as soon as he opened his mouth he heaved up again. Instead he answered with a faint nod. 

Daniel leaned back against the trunk, eyes closed. A last, rather weak tremor shook the ground. 

This was the worst outburst since the border. But it had not all been him. Why had the earth responded? It made no sense. And then Chris telling him to use the power as a shield. Had Chris seen him using his powers in that way? Probably, how would he have known this otherwise? 

In that moment, Daniel realized he needed Chris. Not just as a friend, but to keep everyone around him safe and to live a - somewhat - normal life. Even though Chris wouldn’t be able to prevent the uncontrolled outbursts directly he could recognize the warning signs and maybe even help Daniel to find a safe outlet. 

When he opened his eyes the next time again, Chris stood before him, a slight grin across his face. “You can sleep after all that? Unbelievable. Come on, I found your grandparents. And don’t worry, they’re OK.” He held out his hand and helped Daniel stand up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, finally I'm feeling ready to upload again.  
> As always, a huge thanks to my beta readers aneroid and [Super_Wolf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Super_Wolf/pseuds/Super_Wolf).  
> Thank you all for waiting so long and staying with me for this journey.


	15. Aftermath

While far away sirens were approaching, Chris led Daniel through the crowd. People were crying and hugging, staring and cursing. Some had scrapes and bruises, but miraculously nobody seemed seriously hurt. 

Daniel followed Chris to the small, nearby park where his two grandparents sat on a bench, looking towards the ruin that only minutes ago had been a church. He was only a few feet away when they finally noticed him. 

“Daniel!” Stephen immediately got up and pulled him in a tight embrace. “I’m so glad you got out safely.” 

He glanced over to Claire, who was holding her left arm. Quietly, he asked Stephen: “Is grandma hurt?” 

Stephen looked to her with an affectionate smile. “No, we escaped unharmed. A large stone from the ceiling came very close to hitting her, but somehow it missed her.” He looked over to the church. “We can’t believe what happened. I keep thinking this has to be a bad dream and I’m going to wake up soon.” 

Daniel took some careful steps towards Claire and touched her arm. Only then, she looked at him and he could see where the tears had rolled down her cheeks. Before he got the chance, she started speaking: “What did you do?” It was only a whisper but she could as well have screamed at Daniel, it hit him like a fist to the face and he took two steps back.

“I… I didn’t… mean to do that. I told you I can’t control my powers when I get upset. It just reminded me so much of Haven…”, he stammered before Stephen intervened.

“We shouldn’t be talking about this here.” He looked around nervously, but there was no one close enough to overhear them. Claire just looked at Stephen with an empty gaze before she turned her head back to the scenery, but she didn’t say another word.

The police, firefighters, and paramedics had arrived in the meantime and, while the police were setting up a perimeter around the destroyed building, the firefighters began to search the rubble for buried people. The paramedics – there were only four – began to triage the escaped crowd.

One of them, a young, rather tall woman, came over to their little group. “Do you have any injuries? Are you OK?”

“We are a bit in shock of course”, Stephen answered, “but otherwise we are alright.”

The woman looked to Claire, who was sitting on the bench like a statue. “Ma’am can you hear me?” She took a step closer and shone a flashlight into one of Claire’s eyes. This seemed to work, as Claire woke from her stupor and nearly hit the light out of the paramedic’s hand.

“Stop that, I’m fine.”

“Ok then. If you don’t feel any pain or have other problems, I’ll check on the next people. Please wait here until an officer has registered your name.”

After she was a couple of feet away Daniel asked worried: “Why do the police want our names?”

“Don’t worry Daniel, this is quite normal.” Stephen patted his shoulder. “They just want to know who was here, so they can ask questions if necessary. This has nothing to do with you, believe me.”

* * *

About an hour later, they arrived home. Inside some décor had fallen over, a picture had fallen down from a wall, but the damage wasn’t too great. Stephen sent Daniel and Chris upstairs for the moment before he went and poured a large glass of bourbon for Claire and himself.

Daniel closed the door of the shared bedroom behind him and lay down on his bed.

“What’s gonna happen Chris? I feel like every time I want to do something new here, I get reminded of what happened on my way south and my powers take control of me.Today was the worst of all. How can I go to school when something like that could happen anytime?”

“Yes, today was bad. But you also learned something. Two things actually. Holding back your powers only makes things worse. And you have a bit of control still. Although today was bad, it could have been a lot worse, Dany.”

“Maybe. But what will grandma and grandpa say? They might want to lock me up now.”

Chris, who had lain down on his own bed, sat up and looked over to Daniel.

“They are not going to do that. I believe.”

“You believe? That’s not very convincing.” Daniel hesitated for a second, “Look at my futures.”

“Hm?”

“Look at my futures. You can tell what might happen. Or what I could do to make things better.”

“I told you Daniel, that’s not how it works. I can’t just look and say what will happen.”

“Pleeeeease Chris. At least try.”

Chris took a deep breath and moved over to Daniel, shaking his head slightly. With the hands touching, the strings sprung up. Daniel noticed that a lot of them were rather dull and not as bright and shiny as the last few times. Was that bad?

Chris looked for half an eternity at the strings, really taking his time to inspect the single threads until he finally talked again: “I might know what to do.” He didn’t seem too convinced and also a bit afraid. “One thing I need to do, apparently, is tell Claire and Stephen about my powers.”

“Are you crazy? You wanna tell them,  _ now _ ? No, no way. They’ll blame you for what happened today as well!”

“Maybe, but it’s the only way. The FBI will show up and they could take you away, especially if Claire and Stephen think they can’t handle your powers. Even if they allow you to stay, they might take may take you out of school again after this morning. I know this was not your fault and you did everything you could and I hope they will see it the same way. If I tell them, none of that’s gonna happen. Probably.”

“You don’t sound as if you believe that really. What if they wanna send you away because of your powers? Then talking to them would not help at all.”

“You are right, this is a risk, but I wanted to tell them for a long time. Only, before you lived here, there was basically no chance they would believe me. Now, at least, you can back me up, although they still might not believe us.”

“You don’t have to do this for me!”

“As I just said, I’m not doing it only for you. But you are like a brother to me, Dany, and I had a great example in Sean. He would have done anything for you.”

This was true, but what Chris said did nothing at all to calm Daniel’s emotions, quite the contrary. Daniel curled up into a ball and cried his heart out. He felt Chris’ hand on his arm.

“I’m sorry, Daniel, I didn’t want to make you feel sad.”

“I just wish Sean and dad were here. I miss them so much.”

“I know. I miss mom – and dad – too.

“You know, I was in the house when… when dad shot himself. I was playing with power bear and then I heard this ‘bang’. I didn’t know what it was, but it was loud and scary. I didn’t know dad owned a gun. I walked out of my room and the door to dad’s room was ajar. I pushed it open and saw… I remember a scream - it must have been me, but I don’t remember screaming. The next thing I know I’m in a hospital bed. Nobody wanted to tell me what had happened, but I knew. I felt empty and lost. Why did he leave me? When a nurse came to measure my blood pressure and suddenly the strings came into my view, I freaked out. I was so afraid of what was happening, that I let nobody touch me, so they gave me some drugs to calm me down. They all thought it was because of what I’d seen, but that was not true. The drugs helped in that they calmed me down enough so I could look at the strings. It still was very confusing, but I was not afraid anymore. Only your grandparents visited me in the hospital. Well, of course there also were police and some lawyers. But I didn’t talk until the funeral. I was trying to get used to how things were now. Despite me not talking, Stephen and Claire came by more than once. They helped me and took care of so many things. They are good people, Dany, and they are your family – and mine too. I believe they will stand by you and help, even now.”

It was the first time Chris really spoke about his dad’s suicide. Daniel looked at him and didn’t see this crushing sadness he always felt when he thought about how Sean died. If anything, Chris’ expression showed anger.

“I’m so sorry Chris. I didn’t know you were in the house when it happened.” Daniel’s tears had dried up during Chris’s tale. Sure, he still felt guilty about what happened, but he was not as afraid anymore. Chris knew what he was doing and aware of the risks. And he, Daniel, was not the only one who was hurting, but once again he had been selfish. Chris had tried to protect and help him since he was brought here. Hell, since he and Sean visited last year. “I’ll try to be a better friend and listen to you, if you need to talk.”

“What are you talking about? You are a great friend. You are just going through a difficult time.”

“Thank you, but that’s not…” Daniel shut up when the doorbell rang.

“Shit, they were faster than I thought!”

“Chris, who is it?”

“You know who.”

Daniel looked out of the window. He saw a large black car parking in front of the house and only seconds later he heard a deep, reverberating voice, someone must have opened the front door.

“Good morning Mr. Reynolds. I need to speak to you and your wife.”

“Claire is not well, but please come in.”

“Apologies, Sir, but this was not a request.” The commanding tone, the voice, Daniel had heard once before in this same house. SA Garner was back.

“The FBI is here!” He paced up and down in the room.

“I told you they’d show up. What did you expect? You are under close surveillance for what happened at the border.”

Daniel stopped in his walk, just having an idea. “Can you read Agent Garner?”

Chris looked at him with wide eyes. “I… Maybe. But it would only be very superficial. And, of course, I’d need to shake his hand. I can hardly just go downstairs, can I?”

“Hmm, what if…” This was indeed a problem. A simple excuse was needed. “What if we go down and look for something to drink or eat? I’m getting quite hungry, actually.”

Chris checked his watch. “It’s nearly half two! I’m pretty hungry as well. I’m sure they will see right through it, though.”

“Probably, but we’re not lying. Let’s go.” Chris tried to catch him, still not completely sure, but Daniel was too nimble and had already bypassed Chris to get out of the room. Having no other choice, Chris followed. Walking down the stairs Daniel picked up the conversation from before: “Was I the first person you talked to about your dad?”

“Yeah. I mean Claire and Stephen probably know what happened, but I personally never told anyone.”

The voices in the dining room fell silent and suddenly Stephen stood in the passageway between the dining area and the hallway.

“Boys, I told you to stay upstairs.” There was a deep furrow on his forehead.

“We are hungry.” It was a simple statement Chris made, but it prompted Stephen to check his watch.

“Oh my. Yes, you are right. Can you prepare something yourselves? We have an… important visitor.”

A large man appeared at his side, dressed in a deep blue, perfectly tailored suit. His dark brown hair was combed to the side and he had piercing, amber eyes. Daniel thought this was the embodiment of every FBI agent he ever saw in movies.

“I wanted to meet Daniel today in any case, Mr. Reynolds. Now is as good a time as any.

“Hello Daniel. My name is Archibald Garner, I’m a special agent with the FBI. I assume your grandparents have told you that I’ve taken over the investigation of your case.”

“Uhm, yes. They mentioned you. This is Chris, my best friend.” Daniel smiled innocently at the towering man while Chris, seemingly intimidated, held out his hand. After he quickly hesitated the Agent took the hand for a brief handshake. Daniel saw Chris’ eyes twitching around and Garner, also noticing the weird behaviour, looked at Chris quizzically and held the contact a little longer than he probably would have normally.

When the hands finally separated Daniel started again. “What are you doing here?” 

Stephen sucked in some air. “Daniel, be polite! Apologize right now.”

Daniel rolled his eyes, but Stephen seemed to be intimidated by the hulking figure as well and he didn’t want to cause more problems. “I’m sorry, agent Garner, that was rude of me. Can I ask, what do we owe the pleasure of your visit to?” 

Stephen shot a half angry, half amused glance at him. 

The inquisitive look of Garner moved back to Daniel. “I’m here to make sure you are ok, after the earthquake and the collapse of the church.”

_ Yeah, and pigs can fly.  _

“It was quite the miracle that nobody there got seriously hurt. Some people said they saw God’s angels protecting them.”

Daniel tried to stay calm and just shrugged. “I didn’t notice any angels. I’m just glad we made it all out safely.” _Did some_ _people see my shield? Shit._

Garner's gaze lingered on him, making Daniel feel more and more uncomfortable. “Yes, I guess that is the most important thing, isn’t it?”

Daniel didn’t want to stay in the presence of this man any longer. In his company, Daniel was just a normal ten year old and for the first time in months, he was afraid of another human. The calm behaviour, this voice which didn’t give anything away and always remained at the same tone, it was almost unnatural. 

“Grandpa can we have something to eat now?”

“I’m preparing you some grilled cheese”, sounded Claire’s voice from the kitchen. She must have gone into her favourite room as soon as she heard Chris and Daniel wanted something to eat. 

“Awesome!” Daniel was already walking around the agent, trying not to pay him any more notice, Chris followed close behind. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Garner attempt to say something, maybe to hold them back, but in the end he decided against it. 

Claire prepared the food with trained movements but her hands were shaking just a little bit and her eyes were red and puffy.

“Grandma, are you ok?”

“No, no I don’t think I can say I am. But we’ll talk later.” Her eyes quickly twitched towards the dining room. Daniel noted, she didn’t call him ‘sweetie’ or ‘honey’ and he felt fear rising in him. What did they tell SA Garner? Although he wanted to believe Chris, he was not sure at all that his grandparents wouldn’t send him away. He was too dangerous, too unpredictable. 

After Claire handed two sandwiches to each of the boys, she went to join Stephen, who was talking with Agent Garner in the house entrance, leaving Chris and Daniel alone.

“I don’t like him, he’s creepy.” Daniel whispered to Chris before taking a large bite out of the sandwich. Normally he liked the crunchiness of the toast, and how the cheese and ham combined their flavour - today his mind was too occupied to really taste it.

“Yeah, I think so too. I saw him talking to scientists and interrogating people. Dany, he has no other case than yours at the moment. But, on the other hand, he doesn’t seem to really know anything. You need to be careful!”

“As if I don’t know that. I’m wondering what’s he gonna do if he ever finds out?”

“Not sure if I really wanna know  _ that _ .”

They heard the front door close and Claire and Stephen joined them at the kitchen counter. Stephen smiled reassuringly while Claire looked lost in thought.

“You kids both all full up now?”, Stephen said with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Yes, but I don’t really have an appetite.” On Daniel’s plate there was still more than a whole sandwich left. “What’s gonna happen? What are you gonna do? Please don’t send me away.”

Stephen sighed heavily. “Daniel, we told you before, we are not going to send you away. I hope you come to trust us in that regard eventually. But as you can imagine, this is also difficult for us. Once you’re finished, we need to talk about things.”

Daniel hopped down from his bar-stool. “I’m ready now.” Chris quickly took the last bite of his sandwiches, which he’d wolfed down, “Me too.” Daniel let a quick grin scurry over his face. Chris must have seen that he didn’t have too much time to eat, while he studied Daniel’s futures in detail.

“Alright.” Stephen and Claire walked to their armchairs in the living room. Chris dragged the large beanbag, which was stored on the side of the fireplace, closer, so that they could easily talk together, and let himself slump into it, with Daniel following suit.

To Daniel's surprise it was Claire who started talking once they all had taken a seat.

“Daniel… You don’t have to worry about us sending you away. We have lost one grandson and we’ll do everything to not lose you as well. But today was... bad. I admit, it maybe wasn’t a good idea bringing you to the service. I didn’t realize how stressful all of this must be for you, even though you told me your story. The faith and the community I personally experienced were always a great source of strength for me and I seem to have fallen back into the old patterns that drove your mother away. Maybe we didn’t give you enough time or, as you said, maybe you’ll never be ready. But it should have been your choice and yours alone to make. I’m sorry if I put too much pressure on you.”

Suddenly Chris was very intently looking at his hands, his cheeks flushed. Did he think, he carried some or the blame? 

“We knew you had these powers and you told us you‘ve lost your control over them before, but never in our worst nightmares could we have come up with… this. Your powers are more dangerous than we ever could have imagined. You destroyed our church today!” Claire’s voice was strained as she said the last sentences and her eyes were watery. 

Stephen took her hand. “Let me take over, dear.”

But before he could say something Daniel spoke himself. “I tried to hold it back, please believe me. And it wasn’t all me. I don’t know why the earth,ehm, responded like that. This has never happened before. You don’t know how terrible I feel about this. And if it wasn’t for Chris, it could have been a lot worse.”

Both looked at him with deeply concerned expressions. “We know you didn’t want this to happen. We know you are a good kid, Daniel.” Stephen took a sip out of a glass with an amber liquid in it before he continued. “But this is even more dangerous. Don’t you see? You caused an earthquake. I don’t know what was different in the times before, but here, today this was your doing and it is also the big question  _ we _ face. You had an outburst like that in a church. How can we be sure that this doesn’t happen outside at any time?” There was another question floating around, it was just not spoken, but Daniel knew what they meant. ‘How can we be sure you won’t have one of your fits and accidentally kill somebody?’

“Because I will be there.” Chris finally had ended the study of his hands.

A tired smile appeared on Claire’s face. “That is very sweet of you, Chris. But you can’t prevent this from happening.”

“Maybe not, but I can calm him down, I already did it once. And if not, I can tell him what to do with his powers to not harm anyone. Dany told you it would have been a lot worse if it wasn’t for me, but that isn’t true. I just knew what he could do and told him to do it.”

Stephen had moved forward a bit, to the edge of his chair. “I don’t understand what you want to say, Chris.”

“I knew he still held power back. It’s never over in one go. So, I told him he should form a shield, or barrier, above our heads to protect all of us.”

A stunned silence fell over the room until Stephen found his footing again. “You protected everyone? But I thought you’d lost control! And how could you know that Chris?”

The two boys looked at each other and Chris nodded to Daniel. “You go first.”

“I didn’t really have control. I just let the power pour out and disperse over our heads. If anyone looked up, they might have seen it. And if I understood what Agent Garner said correctly, some did.”

“Some people saw? Don’t we have enough problems already?” Claire seemed properly agitated.

“I trusted Chris! Who would pay attention to that anyway when the whole building is collapsing? And it’s not so bad. They all think it was god’s angels protecting them.”

Claire glared at him, but before she or Stephen could answer, Chris quickly spoke, seemingly desperate to try changing the topic..

“Yeah, so… There is something I need to tell you. The reason why I could give Daniel this advice is that I saw it happen before it actually took place. I,” he took a deep breath, “I have my own superpowers.”

Claire looked at him, seemingly close to erupting in anger. “Sure you do honey. But this is about Daniel and his reckless behaviour now. You don’t need to try and come up with a story to protect him.”

“Listen to me, I’m not lying. I can see the different futures of everybody when I touch them. That’s why we came down, I wanted to shake Agent Garner’s hand, so that I could see what he might do in the coming days...”

“Chris this is enough. We know you have a wild imagination and I understand you want a superpower as well. I would want that too, if my best friend had such powers and especially if he is in danger. But this isn’t helping at all at the moment. You’re not helping here, maybe you should go to your room.” This wasn’t really a question or request, it was more like an order. 

“You’re not listening, grandma. He needs to be here. He helped me more than once and he’s telling the truth.”

“Maybe I can prove it, but I’m not sure.” Chris walked the few steps to Claire and Stephen. “May I touch one of your hands?”, he asked no one in particular.

Suddenly Claire seemed unsure and Stephen – who had stayed silent since Chris began to reveal his powers – looked at Chris thoughtfully.

“Look, you don’t believe me anyway. So, what are you afraid of? I will try and predict something you’re going to do this afternoon. I’ll write it down on a piece of paper and before we go to bed, we can talk again and I’ll show you what I wrote.”

“This is crazy, but alright. If you’re lying, you’ll be grounded for the rest of the summer break, I can predict that right now.” Claire still was not too sure about this, but she held out a hand. Claire mumbled something angrily, but Daniel couldn’t quite make it out. 

Ignoring her, Chris talked to Daniel without actually looking back: “Dany, please pass me a piece of paper and a pen.”

As Daniel went, he saw out of the corner of his eyes Chris beginning to read Claire’s futures.

* * *

When Chris and Daniel were back in their room, only minutes after Chris made his reads, the blonde boy lay down on his bed and began to shiver. Daniel sat close to him. “Hey, are you OK?”

Chris had troubles answering, only after a while Daniel could make out what the other boy wanted to say. “Not at the moment, but I’m gonna be fine. I might have overdone it a little today.”

Daniel remembered his own illness, the reason why Sean and he came here in the first place. Was there a connection between the powers and this? He held a hand to Chris' forehead, as Esteban and later Sean had done whenever he didn’t feel well, it was burning hot.

“Grandma, I think Chris is ill”, he yelled out worriedly, while he wrapped his arms around Chris and tried calming the shivers down.

Claire took her sweet time, but eventually she put her head into the room: “What now?” 

“Please help.” The shivers only had become stronger and Daniel really began to worry about his friend.

Claire hurriedly checked Chris’ forehead as Daniel had before, turned around and Daniel could hear her whisper, “This day just won’t end.” The few minutes she took to collect the drugs and the thermometer felt like an eternity to Daniel. After she measured Chris' temperature, she looked somewhat worried. “If he has such a high fever for much longer, we’ll have to take him to the clinic.”

For the first time since this morning, her normal personality showed up again. “Help me tuck him under the blanket, will you sweetie? And after that you can bring a glass of water and maybe a damp cloth.”

Daniel nodded and did as told. After Chris was firmly tucked in, had swallowed the drugs and emptied the glass, Claire went to make some tea.

The shivering had died down mostly and Chris smiled faintly. Just before he fell asleep, he whispered: “Don’t worry Dany, I’ll be back to normal in no time.”

Daniel didn’t leave the room. Cross-legged he sat on his bed and drew in Sean’s old sketchbook. Once Claire came in and checked on Chris, she noticed that the fever had broken already. She furrowed her brow at that, but otherwise just shrugged.

“Dinner will be ready in about an hour.”

“Mhm, thank you. I’ll be down in a bit. Should I wake Chris for it?”

“No, let him sleep. This sudden fever was quite weird. I don’t want him overexerted.”

_ Ha, that ship has already sailed. But she is probably right and he should rest for the moment. _

###

Dinner was a silent affair until Daniel heard quiet steps on the stairs. He turned around and saw Chris, who had changed into his tracksuit. “Chris, how are you?!”

“I’m feeling much better. And hungry”, he grinned.

“Take a seat, I’ll bring you a plate.” Claire already moved to the kitchen. With Chris at the table, the before non-existent talk picked up and even Daniel’s grandparents smiled at times about the boys. After the table was cleared and the kitchen cleaned, all of them gathered once more in the living room. Chris picked up some pieces of paper from the coffee table, all of them neatly folded.

He handed Claire one of them. She read it, handed it to Stephen and looked quite sincerely at Chris. “Of course, I would help you. You probably felt unwell when we were talking, so this is not much of a real prediction.”

Wordlessly Chris handed the next paper over. After reading this one, she gulped heavily. “Ok, I deserved that. Seeing Daniel cradling you… How could I be mad at him at this point?”

“Here, my last prediction for you.”

She read it and all the colour drained out of her face. “How… I don’t…” She hid her face in her two hands. Stephen read the last note as well and reached over to his wife.

“It’s ok, dear. We already had one kid with superpowers in the house, now it’s two. We can handle it. They can’t be more trouble than Karen”, he looked at the two boys;  _ I hope _ , his eyes said.

Claire took a deep breath. “Yes, yes you are right. Of course. I suppose Chris can take care of Daniel’s outbursts. But I have a lot of questions. Not today, but tomorrow we’ll need to have a talk. Just you, Chris, Stephen and I.”

“What, but…”

“This is non-negotiable, Daniel! This is not about you, it’s about Chris and what he can do. Taking care of you when you’re outside is a huge responsibility and I want him to speak freely. With you there, this will only be harder for him.”

“Ok.” Daniel pouted, but silently he agreed.

“Well, this is enough excitement for me in one day. More than enough. Please go upstairs, prepare for bed and in half an hour go to bed on your own. I need a quiet evening off.” Claire reached for the TV remote.

“I’ll get you something to drink, honey.” Stephen got up and walked into the dining room.

Daniel and Chris went to the upper floor and did as requested by Claire. From downstairs they heard the TV: ‘ _... an earthquake like none I’ve seen before. We have one clear epicentre, but the initial tremor didn’t originate there. Unfortunately we cannot pinpoint the exact location, but it was quite shallow and in the vicinity of Eugene, Oregon…”  _

Chris closed the bedroom door and the news broadcast wasn’t audible anymore. 

“Will Claire be ok?”

“It will take some time. But she will get used to the idea of us both having our powers. No hugs for a few days or weeks though. At least not from her.” Chris smiled sadly. “It’s the price we have to pay.”

“That’s not fair. Why do you need to pay this price when you only try to help me?”

“You have to pay the same price, Dany. She is still super upset, but she just needs to make sense of today. It was a lot for all of us. We can thank Stephen for staying so calm. I suppose him being a firefighter has prepared for stressful situations. He will help her get through it.”

“Yeah, hey, thank you! I hope you don’t need to protect me like that every day.” 

“You would do the same.” Chris smiled and nudged Daniel in the arm. 

Daniel returned the smile. “Of course I would! Oh, by the way, what was your last prediction?” 

Now Chris laughed heartily. “I foretold she’d oversalt the dinner, which she clearly did.”

Daniel chimed in giggling. “Hell yeah. It was barely edible. I never thought she could even cook that badly. And nobody said a word.” The giggle had changed to a full out laughter that drove the shadows of this day away, at least for a little while. 

After they calmed down again, Daniel added, “Well, let’s get ready for bed. It’s early, but I really want to be on Claire’s good side this evening. We can still talk. Or make up a story. I don’t wanna think about today anymore.”

“Mhm. That sounds like a solid idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for staying with me for this story. Getting your kudos means a lot to me and is a big motivational push and I appreciate every single one as well as you feedback in the comments. 
> 
> A huge thanks go to aneroid and [Super_Wolf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Super_Wolf/pseuds/Super_Wolf) for beta-reading the chapter.  
> 


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